Hayim Katsman

Hayim Katsman was born in 1991 in Israel

Katsman was born in Israel on 3 October 1991 to Daniel and Hannah Katsman, who had moved to Israel from New York City in 1990. He grew up in a religious Zionist family in Petah Tikva. At 16 he left religious observance and was expelled from his religious high school.

He was drafted into the IDF in 2009 and served in combat intelligence collection. After his service he moved to kibbutz Holit, where he worked as a car mechanic and a gardener and later opened a bar. He was also a DJ who played Arabic music.

He studied philosophy and political science at the Open University of Israel and earned a master's degree at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He then did a PhD in international studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, finishing in 2021 with a dissertation on religious Zionism. He later lectured at Hadassah Academic College.

Katsman opposed the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. He was active in Machsom Watch and Breaking the Silence and did volunteer work in Rahat.

On 7 October 2023 Hamas militants attacked Holit. Katsman hid in a closet with his neighbor Avital Aladjem and shielded her with his body. He was shot dead, and she survived and was buried him at the Yarkon Cemetery on 12 October.