Haim Jelin, a former member of Kibbutz Be'eri, former head of the Eshkol Regional Council, Yesh Atid Knesset member, and member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has become one of the prominent symbols of October 7. Jelin has effectively expressed the voice of those who suffered the most direct and significant impact of the Hamas attack.
Although his political views are publicized, Jelin chose not to criticize Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly. Still, the dissolution of the War Cabinet and the departure of Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot from the political cabinet led Jelin to call for elections for the first time.
Jelin did it subtly, undoubtedly as a result of the current political discourse in Israel, but his message was sharp and clear:
"Mr. Prime Minister,When was the last time you walked alone on the sand of the beach and felt the cool wind and water?When was the last time you went on a trip to the desert with friends and experienced peace and space?When was the last time you saw a wildflower in a field or a deer running freely in nature?When was the last time you took off your headphones and listened to music you love without worries?When was the last time you touched real life, the simple lives that most people have, lives that were snatched away on October 7?"
"With a need for choice and dignified leadership"
Jelin outlined his expectations from the Israeli government as such:
"Personally, I don't want a prime minister who knows better than everyone else about security and foreign policy and stands against them all. I want someone who knows what life is about, who can mingle among people out of love and not out of image or mandates. I want a prime minister who can capture the hearts of the people and not create division among them.
"I also want the option of a female prime minister who possesses the wisdom of a mother, who cares for her citizens as if they were her children, and who fights like the women of Be'eri in the bomb shelters. If politics cannot produce the kind of people I want, what is the value of politics? Because it cannot heal society or the country or unite and embrace the nation.
"We have a nation of heroes, a nation that volunteered and sacrificed themselves and fought to save their fellow man. An amazing nation in need of healing and hope. The nation of Israel is in need of unifying elections and a leadership worthy of the victims of October 7, the wounded, and the bereaved families."