Uri Avnery, Israeli journalist, writer, politician, and peace activist, was born Helmut Ostermann in Beckum, Germany, in 1923, emigrating with his parents to Palestine on Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. At the age of fourteen he joined the Irgun, an underground military organization opposing British rule, and served for three years, leaving in protest against its anti-Arab ideol-ogy. In 1946 Avnery founded the Eretz Yisrael Hatz’ira ("Young Palestine") movement, and edited its publication, which promoted a radical view of the Hebrew community in Palestine as a natural ally of the Arab nationalist movements in the region.
At the outbreak of war in 1948, Avnery joined the Israeli army, later volunteering for the legendary commando unit, "Samson’s Foxes," before being severely wounded in the closing days of the war.
From 1950 to 1990 Avnery was the owner and editor of the hugely popular progressive weekly newspaper, Haolam Hazeh (This World), which campaigned for the separation of state and religion; equality for the Arab minority, and social justice. From the early 1950s, it has resolutely advocated the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, and support for the Arab struggles for indepen-dence. Its editorial offices and printing facilities were bombed sev-eral times, wounding some employees, and in 1972 both its offices and invaluable archives were completely destroyed by arson. Avnery himself was ambushed and both his hands broken in 1953, and two decades later he was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt.
In 1965 he established a new political party named after his newspaper, serving as a member of the Knesset for ten years, and in