Haim Yavin (; born September 10, 1932) is 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 as "Mr. Television."

Biography

Heinz Kluger (later Haim Yavin) was born in Beuthen, Oberschlesien, Germany (now Bytom,

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

, Poland). His family immigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in 1933. After his marriage to Yosefa, the couple lived in Jerusalem's Talbiya neighborhood. They currently live in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. His son is author Jonathan Yavin. Channel 1 Israel DSCN0879

Media career

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. He is known in Israel as "Mr. Television" and dubbed "Israel's

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

" by the American press. He is often perceived as the "voice" of Israel. One of his famous sentences is "Ladies and gentlemen – a revolution!" () after

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

won the 1977 election. He also served as chief

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of Mabat. Yavin sparked political controversy with his five-part

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

series '' The Land of the Settlers'', aired on Israel's Channel 2 in May 2005. The program concluded that

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

s were endangering Israel, and Israel should withdraw from the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, with Yavin stating that "since 1967, he Israelishave been brutal conquerors, occupiers, suppressing another people." Israeli settlers were outraged by this partisan approach by a leading newscaster. At the time,

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

'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. Instead, the Israel Broadcasting Authority signed him on for another year. In August 2007, Yavin announced his retirement. He read the news for the last time on February 5, 2008.'Haim Yavin, 'Mr Television', ending 50-year media career in August'
– Ha'aretz

Awards

In 1997, Yavin was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, for communications.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yavin, Haim 1932 births People from Bytom People from the Province of Upper Silesia Living people Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine Israel Prize in communication recipients Israeli television presenters Israeli film directors Channel 1 (Israel) people Israeli television personalities Israeli television news anchors

Biography

Media career

Awards

See also

References

External links