Abie Nathan
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Abie Nathan, born on April 29, 1927 in Abadan, Persia, and grew up in Mumbai, India, is an Israeli humanist and peace activist.
Nathan founded the Voice of Peace radio station.
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[edit] Early years
Abie Nathan was born in Persia on April 29, 1927. He spent his adolescent years in the city of Mumbai (then Bombay) in India. He became a pilot in the Royal Air Force in 1944. In 1948 he volunteered as a pilot in Machal (Volunteers in Israel’s War of Independence) and stayed in Israel thereafter.[1] He worked with El Al airlines and later opened a restaurant in Tel Aviv.[1]
[edit] Flight for Peace
Nathan led a party called Nes in the 1965 Israeli legislative election. He failed to get the electoral threshold by 2,000 votes. After the results were published he declared he would fly to Egypt, carrying a message of peace. Flying in his plane, which he named Shalom 1 ("Peace 1"), he landed in the Egyptian city of Port Said on February 28, 1966. Arrested upon landing, he asked to meet Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, and to deliver a petition calling for peace between Israel and Egypt. He was denied, and was deported back to Israel, where he was arrested again for leaving the country by an illegal route.[2]
[edit] Meetings with PLO
In 1978, Nathan began his first hunger strike to protest the construction of Israeli settlements. In the early 1980s, Nathan began meeting officials from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). These meetings were later outlawed by the Knesset. In 1991, Nathan went again on a hunger strike for 40 days to protest that Israeli law which prevented meetings with terrorist organizations. He stopped his hunger strike following the intervention of then Israeli President, Chaim Herzog. [3]
Nathan continued, however, his contacts with PLO head Yasser Arafat, and on September 18, 1991, he was condemned to 18 months in prison.[4] President Herzog cut 12 months from his sentence, and he was released after serving less than 6 months.[5]
[edit] Voice of Peace and Humanitarian activities
In 1973, Nathan founded the Voice of Peace radio station. He bought a ship, named it "The Peace Ship", and sailed it outside Israeli territorial waters. The station broadcast 24 hours a day, mostly English programs that mainly included popular music, while promoting Nathan's political activities. While spreading his ideas to his audience, Nathan was also involved with disaster relief in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Biafra, Colombia, and Ethiopia.[6][7] In another anti-war protest, he presided over the burial of smashed military toys.[8]
On October 1, 1993, Nathan had to close the Voice of Peace station due to economic and legal difficulties. Part of the reason for closing was that with the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords, he felt his message for peace and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians has been spread.[9] The ship was scuttled on November 28, 1993.[10]
In 1997, he suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b Abie Nathan. abie-nathan.com. Noam Tal (July 2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-02.
- ^ "Israeli 'Peace Pilot' Again Tries to See Nasser; Abie Nathan Is Sent Home After Landing at Port Said --Arrested on Return", The New York Times, 1967-07-29, p. 6. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ "Israeli Peace Advocate Ends Hunger Strike", The New York Times, 1991-06-07. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
- ^ "Israel Frees Abie Nathan", The New York Times, 1992-03-31. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ "Abie Nathan's Jail Term Cut Sharply by Israeli President", The New York Times, 1992-03-30. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ "Racing to Save the Hungry", Time, 1979-11-12. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
- ^ May, Clifford D. "Israel Arrives in Ethiopia on Relief Mission", The New York Times, 1984-12-18. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
- ^ "Abie Nathan Mounts 'Protest for Peace'", The New York Times, 1977-08-13. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
- ^ Kaplan Sommer, Allison. "Abie Nathan pulls up anchor", The Jerusalem Post, 1993-10-01. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
- ^ "Nathan to sink peace ship today", The Jerusalem Post, 1993-11-28. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
[edit] References
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nathan, Abie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Israeli peace activist, humanist, pilot |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 29 April 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Abadan, Persia |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
