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Haim Yavin

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Haim Yavin
חַיִּים יָבִין
Yavin in 2013
Born
Heinz Kluger

(1932-09-10)10 September 1932
Beuthen, Upper Silesia, Prussia, Germany
(now Bytom, Poland)
Died22 July 2026(2026-07-22) (aged 93)
CitizenshipIsraeli
OccupationNews presenter
Awards1997 Israel Prize

Haim Yavin (Hebrew: חַיִּים יָבִין; 10 September 1932 – 22 July 2026) was an Israeli television anchor and documentary filmmaker. He was one of Israel's leading news presenters, associated with the job for so many decades that he was known in Israel as "Mr. Television".

Early life and education

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Heinz Kluger (later Haim Yavin) was born on 10 September 1932,[1] in Beuthen, Upper Silesia, Prussia, Germany (now Bytom, Poland).[2] His family immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1933, settling in Kiryat Bialik.[3] Their original surname "Kluger", which in German means "clever one", was later Hebraized to Yavin (Hebrew: יָבִין), meaning "will understand". The rest of his family was killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust.[4] Yavin went to high school in Kiryat Motzkin, but moved to Haifa before graduating to work at the Phoenicia glass factory. After serving his mandatory military service and taking his matriculation exams, he enrolled in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied English and Hebrew literature.[5]

Media career

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A poster showing Haim Yavin at work is displayed at the entrance to IBA's Channel 1 news studio
Yavin interviewing Yisrael Galili in an IDF base as part of the Israeli TV show Kaleidoscope on 16 July 1969.

In 1958, while studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he got a job as an anchor and music presenter at the Kol Yisrael radio station. After founding the radio service Hagel Hakal (later known as Reshet Bet), he entered Kol Yisrael's documentary department, where he remained until the establishment of Channel 1, the first television channel in Israel.[6][5]

Between 1968 and 2008, Yavin was the anchor of Mabat (lit. "Outlook"), the primetime news roundup on Israel's state television station, Channel 1, which he helped found.[5] On 23 July, he was part of the team that presented Mabat's first episode and Israel's first news broadcast, which centered on the hijacking of El Al Flight 426.[5][3] He later served as the Israel Broadcasting Authority's correspondent in the United States from 1971 to 1974.[6] While serving this role, he did what was described by Haaretz as "the greatest blunder of his career" and missed the announcement of president Richard Nixon's resignation.[4] When he returned to Israel, he was given high-ranking positions, such as chief editor of Mabat, head of its news department, and presenter and editor of Mabat Sheni. Asides from presenting, Yavin produced documentaries that covered topics from domestic politics to Judaism in the Soviet Union during the nation's collapse.[7] For one of his documentaries, A Smoldering Ember, he visited the Soviet Union.[5]

During his career, Yavin became a recognizable figure in Israeli television, earning the nickname "Mr. Television" in Israel[5] and being dubbed "Israel's Walter Cronkite" by the American press.[8] His coverage of the 1977 election were a notable point in his career, being first time exit polls were broadcast live on Israeli television. After Menachem Begin's Likud won the election, he coined the Hebrew phrase "mahapach" (Hebrew: מַהְפֵּךְ, lit. 'revolution' or 'upheaval'), famously saying it while declaring "Ladies and gentlemen – a revolution!" (Hebrew: "גְּבִירוֹתַי וְרַבּוֹתַי – מַהְפֵּךְ!").[9] It would go on to receive widespread usage outside of Israeli politics, including in sports.[6][5]

From 1986 to 1990, he served as the director of Israeli Television, during which he produced over 100 documentaries.[5][4] His tenure saw the extension of broadcasting hours and the establishment of programs such as Beshidur Hoker, Roim Olam, and Siba LaMesiba.[7] He described his announcement of the 1995 assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin as the most difficult moment of his career, stating in an interview that: "I couldn't say the word 'dead' or 'murdered'. I just said he was no longer with us."[4]

Yavin sparked political controversy with his five-part documentary series The Land of the Settlers, aired on Israel's Channel 2 in May 2005. The program concluded that Israeli settlements were endangering Israel, and Israel should withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Yavin stating that "since 1967, [the Israelis] have been brutal conquerors, occupiers, suppressing another people." Israeli settlers were outraged by this partisan approach by a leading newscaster.[10][11][12] At the time, Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan had not yet been implemented, and the series was viewed as propaganda in support of it. The chairman of the Yesha Council called on Channel One to fire Yavin.[10] Instead, the Israel Broadcasting Authority signed him on for another year.[10]

In August 2007, Yavin announced his retirement. He read the news for the last time on 5 February 2008.[13]

Personal life

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After his marriage to Yosefa, the couple lived in Jerusalem's Talbiya neighborhood. They lived in Tel Aviv.[14] They had three sons, including author Jonathan Yavin,[5] and a daughter who died in 2025.[15]

In 2016 and 2017, four women, including Haaretz journalist Neri Livneh [he], accused him of sexual assault, allegations he denied.[6]

He died on 22 July 2026, at the age of 93. His funeral is scheduled to be held at Givat HaShlosha cemetery on 24 July.[5]

Awards

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In 1997, Yavin was awarded the Israel Prize, for communications.[16] In 2003, he became the first recipient of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television's Lifetime Achievement Award.[3] In 2009, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Baruch, Uzi (22 July 2026). ""Mr. Television" Haim Yavin passes away". Israel National News. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Haim Yavin murió: adiós al "Señor Televisión" de Israel". Aurora Israel (in Spanish). 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Haim Yavin dead: Legendary TV presenter dies as tributes flood in for 'Mr Television'". AOL. 22 July 2026. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Stern, Itay (22 July 2026). "Haim Yavin, 'Mr. Television' and Israel Prize Laureate, Dies at the Age of 93". Haaretz. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Boker, Ran (22 July 2026). "Haim Yavin, Israel's legendary 'Mr. Television,' dies at 93". Ynetglobal. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Veteran news anchor Haim Yavin, Israel's 'Mr. Television,' dies at 93". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Haim Yavin, Israel's legendary 'Mr. Television' broadcaster, dies at 93". The Jerusalem Post. 22 July 2026. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Israel's 'Walter Cronkite' Accused of Sexual Harassment After Downplaying It". The Forward. 27 December 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "גבירותי ורבותי, מהפך!". www.idi.org.il (in Hebrew). 2020. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "I stole the show". Ha'aretz. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2005.
  11. ↑ "Israel's Mr TV blasts occupation". 1 June 2005. Archived from the original on 12 November 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2005 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  12. ↑ Top Israeli news anchor attacks occupation – The Guardian
  13. ↑ 'Haim Yavin, 'Mr Television', ending 50-year media career in August' – Ha'aretz
  14. ↑ Rosenberg, Oz (11 October 2011). "The Ups and Downs of an Increasingly ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Haim Yavin, Israel's 'Mr. Television' who declared 'mahapach' and sparked settlement uproar, dies at 93". JNS. 23 July 2026. Archived from the original on 23 July 2026. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "Israel Prize Official Site – Recipients in 1997 (in Hebrew)". Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
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