Memorial Page for Uri Avnery (née Helmut Ostermann)

Uri Avnery (born Helmut Ostermann on 10 September 1923 in Beckum; died 20 August 2018 in Tel Aviv) was an Israeli journalist, politician, author and peace activist. He became one of the best-known Israeli voices for talks with Palestinians and for a two-state solution.

From Germany to Palestine

Avnery was born into a Jewish family in Westphalia. After the Nazis came to power, the family emigrated to Palestine in 1933. Helmut Ostermann became Uri Avnery. As a teenager he joined the Irgun, a militant Zionist underground organisation, but left it in 1942 because he rejected its methods. This early political movement from right to left shaped his later public path.

War experience and journalism

In the 1948 war Avnery fought in Israeli units and was seriously wounded. The experience of war, statehood and violence became a starting point for his journalism. In 1950 he took over the magazine HaOlam HaZeh with Shalom Cohen. The paper became known for investigations, attacks on power structures and a language that provoked Israel's political public. Avnery understood journalism as counterpower, not as mere accompaniment to government policy.

Knesset and political provocation

In 1965 Avnery entered the Knesset. He joined parliamentary work with publishing and remained an outsider who often spoke against majority opinion. After the Six-Day War, his call for recognition of Palestinian national rights became a central theme. For supporters he was an early realist of peace; for opponents he crossed red lines and weakened Israel. These contradictions made him a permanently controversial figure.

Beirut and Gush Shalom

On 3 July 1982, during the Lebanon War, Avnery met Yasser Arafat in Beirut. For many Israelis the meeting broke a taboo because the PLO was officially regarded as an enemy. Avnery saw it as a necessary step toward speaking with the Palestinian leadership. In 1993 he founded Gush Shalom, a peace movement that protested against occupation and settlement policy and argued for negotiations. He continued writing and demonstrating into old age.

Recognition and criticism

Avnery received international honours, including the Right Livelihood Award in 2001. His work was widely recognised as courageous advocacy for dialogue. At the same time it remained controversial in Israel and beyond. He supported contact even with actors many others refused to speak to and sharply criticised Israeli governments. This tension defined his public role: the uncomfortable journalist and the political activist who deliberately sought conflict in order to make conversation possible.

Farewell

Uri Avnery died in Tel Aviv on 20 August 2018 after a stroke. He was 94 years old. His name remains connected with a form of political public life that joined dissent, journalism and peace work.