Hetz (Political Party)

Hetz was a secular-Zionist electoral list created shortly before Israel's March 2006 election. It was formed under Avraham Poraz by members who seceded from Shinui and used a pre-existing party registration associated with former MK Alex Tzinker.[1][2] Although its founders constituted a nine-member Knesset faction, Hetz failed to cross the electoral threshold, ending their parliamentary representation under the new party banner.[3]

Hetz remained registered after the election as what Poraz called a "shelf party," meaning a dormant vehicle that could be used for a future electoral list.[5] That organizational afterlife became its principal longer-term significance when Hatnua was established in 2012 using Hetz's political infrastructure.[4]

Hetz emerged from a crisis within Shinui, a secular party that had won 15 Knesset seats in the preceding election, becoming Israel's third-largest party and joining Ariel Sharon's coalition government.[6] In January 2006, Ron Loewenthal defeated Avraham Poraz in Shinui's internal elections and was ranked directly after party chairman Yosef (Tommy) Lapid. Lapid resigned as chairman later that month.[1]

Poraz later described spending two weeks considering his options after leaving Shinui. He said he decided to form a new party after concluding that Shinui had not gained popularity in his absence.[7] Poraz and eight fellow Knesset members then announced that they would join a party registered by former MK Alex Tzinker and establish a secular-Zionist list. The departing group included Eti Livni, Arale Golan, Ilan Shalgi, Reshef Chen, Meli Polishook-Bloch, and Roni Brizon. The arrangement followed talks with other groups, including the Greens and Roman Bronfman's Democratic Choice.[2]

Hetz was constituted on February 7, 2006.[1] A registration-order report listed it as "Hetz – the secular people under Poraz's leadership" and displayed the letters חץ in parentheses, while noting that ballot letters would be finalized later.[8] Victor Brailovsky conceived the name "Hetz." Poraz served as treasurer, and the organization initially worked from his home or an advertising agency before establishing a campaign headquarters.[9]

Hetz campaigned primarily as a secular-Zionist list. Its political background came from Shinui, whose 2006 platform advocated opposition to religious coercion, separation of religion and state, civil marriage, public transportation on Shabbat, and military or national service for yeshiva students.[6] Hetz's campaign sought to reclaim secular voters whom its leaders believed had moved to Kadima.

Campaign slogans included "A secular Hetz to the Knesset," "Shas without kippahs," and messages attacking Kadima's record on religious-secular issues. Advertising executive Alex Biletsky said the party's intended audience was then "parked in Kadima."[10] These statements were partisan campaign messaging rather than independently established descriptions of Kadima or religious political influence.

Hetz entered the campaign with limited organizational resources. Poraz said, in translation, "We have no mechanism and no money. We have only the message." The party received NIS 3 million in its financial settlement with Shinui and planned a campaign budget of up to NIS 5.5 million.[9]

The March 28, 2006 election was widely viewed as a referendum on Kadima's plans to disengage from the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — while economic policies affecting disadvantaged groups were also a major issue.[11] Kadima, led by Ehud Olmert, emerged as the largest party with 29 seats.[12] Turnout was 63.2%, described at the time as the lowest ever recorded for an Israeli election.[11]

Hetz fielded the nine sitting MKs who had left Shinui.[2] It nevertheless failed to cross the electoral threshold and did not enter the Knesset.[3] Shinui also failed to win representation.[5] Poraz consequently lost his Knesset seat.[3]

Hetz did not disappear as a registered organization after its electoral defeat. In 2008, Poraz described it as a "shelf party" that could theoretically submit another candidate list or provide an electoral vehicle for a group with an attractive candidate.[5]

That dormant infrastructure was later reused. A 2013 profile described Hatnua as a centrist party formed by Tzipi Livni on November 27, 2012, after her defeat in the Kadima leadership election. The same profile stated that Hatnua's political creed was based on the infrastructure of Hetz.[4] Hetz's historical significance therefore lies less in its unsuccessful 2006 campaign than in the later reuse of its registered organizational framework.

Descriptions of Hatnua as both a new party created by Livni and a party based on Hetz's infrastructure can appear contradictory. A Ynet profile explicitly makes both statements: it says Livni formed Hatnua in November 2012 and that its political creed rested on Hetz's infrastructure.[4] This supports a distinction between Hatnua's public political founding and its use of an existing organizational vehicle, although the available source does not fully document the legal mechanics of that transition.