Politicsרועי פולקמן

Roy Folkman

Roy Folkman is an Israeli politician who served as a Knesset member for Kulanu from 2015 to 2019 and was elected to the Knesset again in 2026 for Yashar.

born 1975Knesset member for KulanuHousing and small business legislationHead of Yashar's Knesset bloc

Born: 5 August 1975, Tel Aviv
Occupation: politician
Party: Kulanu
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, John F. Kennedy School of Government

Roy Folkman was born in 1975 in Tel Aviv

Roy Shmuel Folkman was born in Tel Aviv on 5 August 1975. His father, Andrei Amnon Folkman, was born in Romania, and his mother, Naomi, was born in Israel.

He served as a combat medic in the IDF. He then founded and ran a youth department at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. He earned a BA in economics and Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master's degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

From 2008 to 2012 he advised Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat and headed the city's policy and strategy division. In 2013 he ran sixth on Barkat's city council list but did not win a seat. He then ran a strategic consulting business until 2015.

He entered the Knesset for Kulanu in 2015 and chaired its faction, working on housing, small businesses and public administration. He was reelected in April 2019 but lost his seat after Kulanu merged into Likud. In 2026 he joined Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party, won a seat and was named head of its parliamentary bloc.

In 2020 he chaired a committee on broadcasting regulation, and in 2021 he published a book on populism in Israel. He lives in Nes Harim and is married with 4 children.