HaOlam HaZeh
Founded in 1965
HaOlam HaZeh ("This World") was a political movement that coalesced around Uri Avnery, the editor of the weekly HaOlam HaZeh in 1965. The new Anti-defamation Law, which, according to Avnery, was enacted especially to target his paper specifically, provided the catalyst for the movement's establishment. Espousing a broader platform, the movement, however, took up other causes in addition to the dedicated struggle for freedom of expression and of the press. The movement, for instance, fought for the rights of the Arab minority, called for the repeal of martial rule and for the restriction of the activity of the security services and espoused a neutralist foreign policy. In the 1965 elections for the Sixth Knesset, the movement received one seat. After the Six Day War, it was among the few voices calling for a complete withdrawal from the territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state. In the 1969 elections for the Seventh Knesset, the movement won two seats, but in the 1973 elections it did not pass the electoral threshold and dissolved.