Meri ( he, מר"י, an acronym for ''Mahaneh Radikali Yisraeli'' (Hebrew: ), lit. ''Israeli Radical Camp'') was a small radical
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. It was founded in the 1960s as HaOlam HaZeh – Koah Hadash by
Uri Avnery
Uri Avnery ( he, אורי אבנרי, also transliterated Uri Avneri; 10 September 1923 – 20 August 2018) was an Israeli writer, politician, and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat for tw ...
, editor of ''
HaOlam HaZeh
''HaOlam HaZeh'' ( he, העולם הזה, lit. ''This World'') was a weekly news magazine published in Israel until 1993.
The magazine was founded in 1937 under the name ''Tesha BaErev'' (Hebrew: תשע בערב, ''Nine in the Evening'') but was ...
''.
History
The party was founded by
Uri Avnery
Uri Avnery ( he, אורי אבנרי, also transliterated Uri Avneri; 10 September 1923 – 20 August 2018) was an Israeli writer, politician, and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat for tw ...
, editor and owner of the anti-establishment ''
HaOlam HaZeh
''HaOlam HaZeh'' ( he, העולם הזה, lit. ''This World'') was a weekly news magazine published in Israel until 1993.
The magazine was founded in 1937 under the name ''Tesha BaErev'' (Hebrew: תשע בערב, ''Nine in the Evening'') but was ...
'' news magazine, and was the first major radical party in Israel. It surprisingly passed the
electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
in the
1965 election, gaining 1.2% of the vote and one seat, taken by Avnery.
The
1969 election saw the party pick up two seats, with fellow ''HaOlam HaZeh'' journalist and owner
Shalom Cohen taking the second seat. However, disagreements between Avnery and Cohen led to the party breaking up on 4 January 1972. Cohen served the remainder of the Knesset session as an independent MK, whilst on 3 July 1973 Avnery renamed the party Meri.
The party included members of
Aki and former members of
Siah on its list for the
1973 elections, but it failed to cross the electoral threshold and Avnery lost his seat. Prior to the
1977 elections, the party merged with
Moked
Moked ( he, מוקד, lit. "Focus") was a left-wing political party in Israel.
Background
Moked came into existence during the seventh Knesset, when Maki (which had one seat, held by Shmuel Mikunis) merged with the Blue-Red Movement, which was ...
, the
Independent Socialist Faction and some members of the
Black Panthers to form the
Left Camp of Israel
The Left Camp of Israel ( he, מחנה שמאל לישראל, ''Maḥaneh Smol LeYisrael'') was a Israeli left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. It was also known as Sheli ( he, של"י), an ...
. The new party won two seats, which were rotated between five party members, including Avnery. However, they failed to win any seats in the
1981 elections and did not reappear in the Knesset.
References
External links
Ha-olam Hazeh - Koah HadashKnesset website
Radical Camp of Israel (Meri)Knesset website
{{Israeli political parties
Far-left politics in Israel
Socialist parties in Israel
Far-left political parties
Defunct political parties in Israel