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Last update - 23:19 28/08/2008
Israeli peace pioneer Abie Nathan dies aged 81
By The Associated Press
Tags: Israel, Voice of Peace 

Abie Nathan - Israeli peace pioneer, pirate radio station founder and former Royal Air Force pilot - has died in Tel Aviv at the age of 81, officials at the city's Ichilov Hospital said Wednesday.

Nathan burst onto the world of Middle East diplomacy in 1966 with a dramatic solo flight to Egypt in a rattletrap single-engine plane, more than a decade before Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty.

Although he failed in his initial bid to talk peace with the Egyptians, his daredevil escapade won the affection of many Israelis, and he launched a long and often eccentric one-man crusade to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
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Over time, he earned a reputation as a maverick peace activist who often took diplomacy into his own hands. He was called a crackpot and a prophet. But many admired the daring of the former Israel Air Force fighter pilot as he pounded on Egypt's doors, sailed his pirate radio ship into hostile Middle East waters or risked his life on hunger strikes for peace.

Yossi Sarid, the former leader of the leftist Meretz party, said Nathan paved the way for Israel's peace movement. "He was ahead of his time, and he did everything himself," he said.

Abraham Jacob Nathan was born April 29, 1927 in Iran, educated in India, and served in Britain's Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot, before joining the Jewish immigrant influx into newborn Israel in 1948.

A short, dark man, he flew for Israel's national airline and ran an art gallery and restaurant that became the center of Tel Aviv's bohemian life. His American-style diner even helped pioneer the hamburger in Israel.

Convinced that people power could succeed where the diplomats had failed, Nathan bought a 188-foot, 570-ton freighter that was partially funded by John Lennon. He anchored it off the coast of Tel Aviv and turned it into a pirate radio station, The Voice of Peace, with a mix of pop songs and peace messages.

"Shalom, salaam and peace to all our listeners," Nathan declared in his maiden broadcast in 1973. "The Peace Ship is a project of the people. We hope through this station we will help relieve the pain and heal the wounds of many years of suffering of the people of the Middle East."

Over the next 20 years, The Voice of Peace became especially popular among youth. It was the only radio station in the Middle East that broadcast music from the world's Top 40 charts and used English as its primary language, yet offered both Israeli and Arabic news.

Apart from his peace efforts, Nathan flew or shipped emergency supplies to victims of war, earthquakes and famine around the world, including to Biafra, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Lebanon and the former Zaire.

In the 1970s, Nathan went on repeated hunger strikes to try to force the Israeli government to make concessions for peace with Egypt and talk to the Palestine Liberation Organization.

He saw the first wish come true when Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979. But it would be years before Israel would reverse a law making meetings with the PLO a crime. Nathan broke the law several times by meeting with members of the PLO.

In recent years, he had been confined to a retirement home and had rarely been seen in public. In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Nathan said that during one of his prison hunger strikes, he was certain he was going to die. He bought a grave and a tombstone.

When asked what he would want written on the stone, he replied "Nisiti" - the Hebrew for "I tried."

Nathan was twice married and had one daughter, Sharona. Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized.

Related articles:
  • Gideon Levy / The last of the dreamers of peace
  • Peace activists to revive Voice of Peace radio station
  • 'And now, the forecast...'
  • Let Bishara go on praising them

    Related links:
  • abie-nathan.com/
  • Voice of Peace tribute site

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      1.   What a man! 22:42  |  Big Sooz 27/08/08
      2.   Abie Nathan 22:45  |  An admirer 27/08/08
      3.   Abie we`ll miss you 22:51  |  Tzfonit 27/08/08
      4.   Israel`s peace delusions can be traced back to him 23:00  |  Yakov 27/08/08
      5.   Abie Nathan 23:16  |  ChanaWashDC 27/08/08
      6.   RIP 23:27  |  Czarkazem13 27/08/08
      7.   Shalom Chaver 23:33  |  Niv 27/08/08
      8.   Rest in peace, Abie... 23:41  |  Esther 27/08/08
      9.   I`ll Never Forget Him 23:44  |  Jane 27/08/08
      10.   Did many good things for many a person - no matter who. 00:07  |  z"l 28/08/08
      11.   Abie Nathan 00:17  |  Mark Elliott Shapiro 28/08/08
      12.   A great man indeed 00:24  |  peace 28/08/08
      13.   Abie Nathan 00:29  |  sh 28/08/08
      14.   Democracy! Isn`t it awesom?:) 00:32  |  Daniel 28/08/08
      15.   Toda Abie 00:41  |  Danite 28/08/08
      16.   A very good man indeed 00:53  |  Pierre Palestinian 28/08/08
      17.   The good men in Israel are dying...... 00:54  |  Swiss (Dino) 28/08/08
      18.   to Yakov #4 00:58  |  zeev 28/08/08
      19.   Abie Nathan of blessed memoryMay his ideals come to fruition soon 01:32  |  PETER SM 28/08/08
      20.   Great Person 01:38  |  Omar 28/08/08
      21.   foolish 03:34  |  Mark 28/08/08
      22.   People like him should not die 03:44  |  Sam (UK) 28/08/08
      23.   Why is it always a lone voice for peace? 03:58  |  Smadar 28/08/08
      24.   Big Loss 04:53  |  Baz Mann 28/08/08
      25.   Abie Nathan 05:15  |  Gadban 28/08/08
      26.   I loved him RIP 06:17  |  L A 28/08/08
      27.   Truly a sad day. 07:00  |  JES 28/08/08
      28.   Abie had Guts. 07:18  |  Sous 28/08/08
      29.   #16 only you can corroborate your story 07:29  |  L A 28/08/08
      30.   "no more war, no more bloodhsut! Peace is the word" 08:30  |  Michèle Baczynsky 28/08/08
      31.   "nisiti" 08:58  |  eric 28/08/08
      32.   One of my favorite memories 09:04  |  Michael Stein 28/08/08
      33.   Why he was Special 09:05  |  Noami 28/08/08
      34.   Soldier for Peace 09:07  |  David 28/08/08
      35.   PS #34 - SO YOU WANT TO KNOW 09:29  |  Absalom 28/08/08
      36.   A True Jew 09:33  |  utagawa 28/08/08
      37.   Abie, the ultimate voice of peace 09:34  |  A mother 28/08/08
      38.   a great man 09:50  |  Sandy 28/08/08
      39.   You`re right #30, but I can assure you it happened 11:14  |  absalom 28/08/08
      40.   Adie Nathan 11:42  |  alan 28/08/08
      41.   #30 LA 11:51  |  K 28/08/08
      42.   I FORGIVE HIM FOR PEACE 12:29  |  indrajaya 28/08/08
      43.   Abe Nathan 12:45  |  Yoel 28/08/08
      44.   Interesting eulogisers 13:13  |  Allan 28/08/08
      45.   A wonderful spirit 13:45  |  Palestinian in UK 28/08/08
      46.   AB NATHAN 14:12  |  THE TEACHER/INSTRUCT 28/08/08
      47.   Abie Nathan`s flight to Egypt. 15:13  |  Michael J 28/08/08
      48.   i alredy miss him 15:29  |  michel 28/08/08
      49.   Allah yarhamou 16:53  |  Mostafa 28/08/08
      50.   A man of courage. 16:59  |  Stephen 28/08/08
      51.   Abie did try. 17:03  |  Ali 28/08/08
      52.   Radio about Abie Natan 17:23  |  ER 28/08/08
      53.   Abie should have been the PM of Israel 17:38  |  Elias 28/08/08
      54.   No more war, no more bloodshed were the words of Begin 17:39  |  x-ray 28/08/08
      55.   Smadar all of Israel wants peace 17:40  |  x-ray 28/08/08
      56.   Baruch Dayan Emet 18:32  |  Ploni 28/08/08
      57.   We lose the man but we keep the inspiration. 18:40  |  Kyle 28/08/08
      58.   Kyle Hannan 19:27  |  Elias 28/08/08
      59.   treason? 21:29  |  fred 28/08/08
      60.   to x-ray #55 (2nd try) 22:22  |  zeev 28/08/08
      61.   allah iarhamou 00:39  |  amg 29/08/08
      62.   I so enjoyed Abe Nathan 01:15  |  Mark Lincoln 29/08/08
      63.   Hope For Israel.... 02:26  |  Gray 29/08/08
      64.   Israeli peace pioneer Abie Nathan dies aged 81 04:24  |  karl 29/08/08
      65.   Fondest Memory 06:18  |  Stephen Randall 29/08/08
      66.   to x-ray #55 (3rd try) 10:06  |  zeev 29/08/08
      67.   # 16 to absalom in los angeles (last try) 11:49  |  eric 29/08/08
      68.   Abie 12:08  |  Keith York 29/08/08
      69.   fred #59 the scoundrel 14:33  |  zeev 29/08/08
      70.   Abie Nathan 14:40