Hetz (, also an

abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...

for ''Hilonit Tzionit'', , "Secular Zionist") was a

secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

History

Hetz was formed in the aftermath of the breakup of

Shinui Shinui () was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market Liberalism worldwide, liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collaps ...

towards the end of the 16th Knesset. Avraham Poraz, Shinui's second-in-command after

Tommy Lapid Joseph "Tommy" Lapid (; born Tomislav Lampel sr-Cyrl, Томислав Лампел 27 December 1931 – 1 June 2008) was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav-born Israeli radio and television presenter, playwright, journalist, politician and Ca ...

was unexpectedly beaten in the race to head the party's list for the 2006 elections by Ron Levintal. In response to the result, Poraz decided to break away from Shinui. He was joined by ten other Shinui MKs (out of a total of 15), including Lapid. They formed the Secular Faction on 26 January 2006, though on 5 February, Hemi Doron and Eliezer Sandberg left the new party to establish National Home. Poraz tried to set up Hetz as a new party in January 2006; however, it was too late to register a new party for the election. He tried to form a union with Tafnit, which rejected it. Eventually the party ran with the minor Citizen and State party, which was re-branded as Hetz for the elections. Lapid was presented as the honorary leader. However, a combination of the split with Shinui (who also ran in the elections with Levintal as head), the founding of centrist party

Kadima Kadima () was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan in August 2005, and was soon ...

and Shinui's lack of progress in implementing their agenda in the previous Knesset (despite being the second largest party in the coalition, hardly any of their campaign pledges had been realised) meant that the party had lost much of its supporter base. Ultimately the party won only 10,113 votes (0.33%), far below the 2%

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...

. Their only consolation was beating Shinui, who received only 4,675 votes (0.16%). Prior to the 2009 elections it was announced that the party would be running a joint list with

the Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...

, with Poraz receiving one of the top five places on the list. However, the agreement was later cancelled and Hetz did not run. In 2012 Hetz was taken over by

Tzipi Livni Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni (, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel), foreign mini ...

to form the basis of the

Hatnua Hatnua () was a liberal political party in Israel formed by former Israeli Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni to present an alternative to voters frustrated by the stalemate in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. The pa ...

party, also inheriting the NIS 1.8 million in the party's bank account. Once seven MKs defected from Kadima and joined the party, Poraz announced that they now "represent Hetz in the Knesset". Hetz ran independently as a minor party in the 2021 election, bringing back the original name but keeping Hatnua's ballot letters (צף). It did not win any seats.Here we go again: ToI’s guide to the 37 parties still seeking your vote
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Ideology

Hetz's policies mirrored those of Shinui in being

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

and liberal with a strong

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

leaning. The party promised to introduce a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, separate religion and state, allow

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Countries maintaining a popul ...

and repeal many of the country's arrangements that they claim strongly benefit the Orthodox population (such as large

child benefit Child benefit or children's allowance is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adult (psychology), young adults. Countries operate different versions of the benefi ...

s (many Orthodox having 10 or more children), exemption from

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

and payments to

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

s).

References

External links

Secular Faction
Knesset website {{Israeli political parties Political parties established in 2006 Political parties disestablished in 2012 Defunct political parties in Israel Zionist political parties in Israel Liberal parties in Israel 2006 establishments in Israel 2012 disestablishments in Israel Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew

History

Ideology

See also

References

External links