Avnery, Uri (1923–)
AVNERY, URI (1923–)
Israeli writer, politician, and peace activist. Born in 1923 as Helmut Ostermann in Beckum, Germany, Avnery immigrated to Mandatory Palestine when he was ten years old. He joined the Irgun Zvaʾi Leʾumi in 1938 but left several years later, opposing its anti-Arab ideology. He fought in the Arab-Israel War of 1948, and later wrote two successful books that were critical of the war. Avnery owned and edited the controversial magazine ha-Olam ha-Zeh. In 1965 he established a political party named after the magazine, winning two seats in the Knesset. He served in the Knesset for ten successive years, except for one term.
Following the Arab-Israel War of 1967, Avnery became a prominent leader of the peace movement. He has advocated recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the creation of a Palestinian state in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. In defiance of Israel's ban, he met with PLO representatives (with Saʿid Hamami in London, then Issam Sartawi in Paris) and then with Yasir Arafat. After the Oslo Accords (1993), Avnery founded Gush Shalom (Bloc for Peace). The group campaigns for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories, dismantling of Jewish settlements there, and the creation of "two states for two nations." Avnery writes a newspaper column and maintains a web site called "Avnery News."
SEE ALSO Oslo Accords;Sartawi, Issam.