Haim was born in Luzsk Russia Mau 12, 1925, to Asher and Henya and brought to Israel aged three months. He studied at “Tachkemoni” School Tel-Aviv and was active in the Scouts. Hungry for knowledge and philosophy, he was self taught and had narrative ability. After Etzel he joined Lehi, prompted by growing British oppression and the degeneration of their promises. He regarded Britain as a foreign regime to be expelled. He was placed in charge of instruction and ideological guidance. He radiated calm, perceived by many as “Olympian Inner Peace”. He regarded himself as preaching but not practicing, and aspired to participate in real combat. Haim participated in many battles: the attack on the Jerusalem CID, Kfar-Vitkin airport, blowing-up Na’aman bridge. In the 1946 attack on the Haifa Railway workshops he was second in command. The fighters had completed their mission and withdrew by truck. At the entrance to Kfar-Ata they encountered a British ambush who opened heavy fire. Eleven fighters died, many were injured. Haim was among the twenty-three fighters captured there, and imprisoned. At their trial, conducted by the British, they declared they had no intention to participate since they weren’t criminals, and demanded to be treated as Prisoners of War, in line with Geneva Convention codes. To prevent the trial from taking place they defiantly sang in court; they were removed and the trial proceeded. Their sentence was death by hanging. Several weeks later, it was commuted to life-imprisonment. In prison, Haim studied economics and mathematics. Blessed with literary poetic talent, he recorded the events of the Workshops Attack and their trial in his book “We Did Not Return to Base”. He smuggled out the handwritten manuscript; it was published right after the Akko breakout May 4, 1947, but he never had a chance to see it. They encountered a British ambush. In the packed escape car Haim was hit by a bullet. “I’m injured”, he uttered, and drew his last breath, May 4, 1947. Haim had married Lehi member Hanna Gelbard on March 12, 1946. Six weeks before the Escape, his daughter Uriella was born.
