Abie Nathan, Israeli Peace Champion, Dies at 81
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- Written by ISABEL KERSHNER, NY Times ISABEL KERSHNER, NY Times
- Published: 29 August 2008 29 August 2008
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JERUSALEM — Abie Nathan, a maverick Israeli peace pioneer, an entrepreneur and a one-man humanitarian-aid organization, who went from playboy to intrepid “peace pilot,” died Wednesday in Tel Aviv. He was 81.
The cause was various illnesses he had had for years, said a spokeswoman for Ichilov Hospital.
Mr. Nathan lived an unconventional life of adventure and diversity. He first became known in the 1960s after a hamburger restaurant he opened in Tel Aviv took off, enabling him to become a bon vivant who gave legendary parties and a darling of the city’s bohemian set.
He went on to organize emergency aid for the hungry from Biafra to Cambodia, sometimes turning to the Israeli and foreign governments for help.
But he is best remembered for his quirky quest for peace in a 30-year campaign waged through a series of audacious escapades by land, air and sea.
A Royal Air Force-trained pilot, he crashed into the national consciousness and the quagmire of the Middle East conflict with a dramatic solo flight from Israel to Egypt in an old rented biplane in 1966. A self-appointed ambassador, he wanted to talk to President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt about making peace.
After a forced landing in the enemy territory of Port Said, he was allowed to stay overnight in Egypt before being sent back to Israel. He never got to see Nasser.
Eleven years and two major wars later, the next president of Egypt, Anwar el-Sadat, flew to Israel in an overture that led to a treaty.
At first Mr. Nathan was seen as “a curiosity” in Israel, said Eitan Haber, a veteran Israeli journalist and former senior aide of the late prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin. “But then it turned out he was ahead of his time,” he said.
After a few more unsuccessful peace flights, Mr. Nathan turned to the sea, raising funds to turn an old ship into a floating pirate radio station, The Voice of Peace. Mostly anchored off the coast of Israel, the station started broadcasting in English “from somewhere in the Mediterranean” in 1973. It gained a devoted audience around the Middle East over the next 20 years with a potent mix of popular music and messages of love and peace.
Abraham Jacob Nathan was born in 1927 to a well-to-do Jewish family in the city of Abadan, Iran, and was educated at a prestigious Jesuit boarding school in Mumbai, then called Bombay, India.
After training as a pilot and working for Air India, he emigrated to the new state of Israel and volunteered as a combat pilot in the 1948 war.
An epicure, he was always ready to pay a personal price for his principles, embarking on numerous hunger strikes; he also served two terms in jail, in 1989 and 1991, for breaking a law against meeting with Yasir Arafat and other officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization, then banned in Israel as a terrorist group.
After receiving his six-month sentence in 1989, he issued a typical explanation of his person-to-person mission: “Violence will only increase and it will be impossible to heal the wounds, whether among the Arabs or the Jews, unless we decide to sit with each other. Our bullets alone cannot solve the problem.”
In 1993 Israel signed its first agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization, known as the Oslo Accord, the fruit of months of secret talks in Norway. Soon after that, facing financial difficulties, Mr. Nathan sank the Voice of Peace ship.
“He was a kind of Don Quixote, more naïve and less political,” said Tzaly Reshef, a founder of the Israeli movement Peace Now, which was established during the Israeli-Egyptian peace talks in 1978.
Always working alone, Mr. Nathan never joined any political movement, though he made a failed bid to enter Parliament in 1965.
The image of naïveté gained Mr. Nathan widespread affection in Israel and largely spared him from the animosity of the Israeli right.
“He was seen as a type of national symbol,” Mr. Reshef said.
Mr. Nathan suffered strokes in 1996 and 1998 that left him partly paralyzed. He spent his last years in a Tel Aviv nursing home, out of the public eye. He had a daughter, Sharona.
His coffin will be placed Friday on the stage of a Tel Aviv theater to allow the public to pay respects, Israel Radio announced Thursday.
The prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, said in a statement that “Abie Nathan loved life, loved mankind and loved peace. He painted Israeli society with a unique shade of humanism and compassion.”
On Thursday, the president of Israel, Shimon Peres, said, “His actions were like a beacon of light, of peace, in dark days of war and enmity.”
Leaving Gaza - Journey Hour One
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- Written by Ramzi Kysia Ramzi Kysia
- Published: 28 August 2008 28 August 2008
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begun their long voyage back to Cyprus. Aboard the ship are seven
Palestinian passengers, including several children. We were able to speak
with Paul Larudee on the SS Liberty just a few minutes ago:
"We're a little over an hour into our return trip to Cyprus and, unlike
when we came in, there are several Israeli naval vessels in sight. We seem
to be the focus of their activity, the center of their attention so to
speak. However they're keeping a careful distance, not really approaching
us. We expect to reach the twelve-mile limit around 7 PM this evening, and
then cross over into international waters.
"When we arrived in Gaza last Saturday, it was the first time in forty-one
years that anyone has freely entered Gaza. But our leaving is in a way
even more significant. Last Saturday, two of our Palestinian members came
into Gaza on these boats. Today, seven more Palestinians are leaving with
them. They got exit stamps from the Palestinian government, they boarded
the ships, and soon they'll be in international waters, and then in
Cyprus. This is the first time, ever, that Palestinians have been able to
freely enter and leave their own country. It's an incredible step forward,
and a sign of greater things to come."
--Paul Larudee, aboard the SS Liberty, freely leaving Gaza.
FREE GAZA BOATS ARRIVE IN GAZA
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- Written by Free Gaza Free Gaza
- Published: 23 August 2008 23 August 2008
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GAZA (23 August 2008) - Two small boats, the SS Free Gaza and the SS Liberty, successfully landed in Gaza early this evening, breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The boats were crewed by a determined group of international human rights workers from the Free Gaza Movement. They had spent two years organizing the effort, raising money by giving small presentations at churches, mosques, synagogues, and in the homes of family, friends, and supporters.
They left Cyprus on Thursday morning, sailing over 350 kilometers through choppy seas. They made the journey despite threats that the Israeli government would use force to stop them. They continued sailing although they lost almost all communications and navigation systems due to outside jamming by some unknown party. They arrived in Gaza to the cheers and joyful tears of hundreds of Palestinians who came out to the beaches to welcome them.
Two small boats, 42 determined human rights workers, one simple message: “The world has not forgotten the people of this land. Today, we are all from Gaza.”
Tonight, the cheering will be heard as far away as Tel Aviv and Washington D.C.
Free Gaza activists: Israel is sabotaging our mission, endangering lives of
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- Written by The Associated Press (published in Ha'aretz) The Associated Press (published in Ha'aretz)
- Published: 23 August 2008 23 August 2008
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The Free Gaza activist group accused Israel of sabotaging the mission.
The two boats carrying members of the U.S.-based activist group left Cyprus for Gaza on Friday to try and break Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory, carrying a delivery of humanitarian supplies. Advertisement
The 46 activists from 14 countries include an 81-year-old Catholic nun and the sister-in-law of Mideast envoy and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
"I can't think of any other reason or any other party with an interest," said Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, the group's spokeswoman in Israel. She accused Israel of jeopardizing the activists' safety, and appealed for international assistance.
Israel has denied interfering in the boats' communications. In the past, however, Israel has described the mission as an unacceptable provocation. It remained unclear what would happen as the boats approach Gaza, although an Israeli attempt to stop them seemed likely.
In a statement, the activists said their communications systems had been jammed and scrambled and said they were victims of electronic piracy.
"We are not experienced sailors. As a results, there is concern about the health and safety of the people on board," the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry has been keeping track of the boats since they set sail from Cyprus on Friday. "We are following the development and if they are looking for a provocation, we will know how to avoid it," Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Merkel said Saturday.
Another spokesman for the ministry, Aviv Shiron, said Friday that all options are being considered when asked whether Israel intended to use force to turn the boats away.
In Gaza City, meanwhile, a small boat zoomed off the coast waving a Palestinian flag as a crowd of activists and journalists gathered in the tiny fishing port hoping to glimpse the vessels.
"I brought the kids so if they [the activists] arrive, I can tell them welcome - and thank you for not forgetting us," said Jamila Hassan, a 42-year-old Gaza resident who brought along her 14-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter to the port.
The 70-foot (21-meter) Free Gaza and 60-foot (18-meter) Liberty left the southern port of Larnaca about 10 a.m. Friday for the estimated 30-hour trip. The activists planned to deliver 200 hearing aids to a Palestinian charity for children and hand out 5,000 balloons.
Godfrey said she expected the vessels to reach Gaza at around 11 a.m. Jerusalem time, but organizers have since lost communication with the boats.
Hamas policemen controlled traffic in and out of the Gaza City port in anticipation of the boats' arrival. Youths leaped off high rocks into deep water nearby. Two large tents were set up for people to watch the scene.
"Nobody thinks that these boats will break the siege in a practical way, but this is a moral message - what is happening [in Gaza] is illegal and inhumane, and must be halted," said Raji Sourani, a prominent human rights activist.
Israel has led an international boycott of the Gaza Strip since the militant Muslim group Hamas seized power of the territory in June 2007. Israel closed its trade crossings with the coastal territory, while neighboring Egypt sealed its passenger crossing, confining Gaza's 1.4 million residents.
Israel has allowed little more than basic humanitarian supplies into Gaza, causing widespread shortages of fuel, electricity and basic goods. Only some people are allowed to leave Gaza for medical care, jobs abroad and the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Under a June truce deal which halted a deadly cycle of bruising Palestinian rocket attacks and deadly Israel airstrikes, Israel has pledged to ease the blockade, but Palestinians say the flow of goods into Gaza remains insufficient and there has been little improvement in the quality of life. Israel has periodically closed the cargo crossings in response to sporadic Palestinian rocket fire that violated the truce.
Earlier on Friday, organizer Paul Larudee said the group expected Israeli authorities to intercept the boats and arrest those on board. He said it was highly unlikely the Israeli navy would fire on them.
The boats departed after last-minute engine repairs to the Liberty, passenger safety drills and a final inspection of the vessels' hulls by Cyprus Marine Police divers. Group members sang a peace song in Arabic and formed the peace sign with their fingers before boarding the boats.
Afghanistan: 76 civilians die in airstrike, ministry claims
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- Written by Sharafuddin Sharafyar, Reuters in Herat Sharafuddin Sharafyar, Reuters in Herat
- Published: 23 August 2008 23 August 2008
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US-led coalition forces killed 76 Afghan civilians in western Afghanistan yesterday, most of them children, the country's Interior Ministry said.
The coalition denied killing civilians. Civilian deaths in military operations have become an emotive issue among Afghans, many of whom feel international forces take too little care when launching air strikes, undermining support for their presence.
"Seventy-six civilians, most of them women and children, were martyred today in a coalition forces operation in Herat province," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Coalition forces bombarded the Azizabad area of Shindand district in Herat province on Friday afternoon, the ministry said. Nineteen of the victims were women, seven of them men and the rest children under the age of 15, it said.
US-led coalition forces denied killing any civilians. They said 30 militants had been killed in an air strike in Shindand district in the early hours of Friday and no further air strikes had been launched in the area later in the day.
Air strikes took place after Afghan and coalition soldiers were ambushed by insurgents while on a patrol targeting a known Taliban commander in Herat, the US military said in a statement.
"Insurgents engaged the soldiers from multiple points within the compound using small-arms and RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) fire," it said. "The joint forces responded with small-arms fire and an air strike killing 30 militants."
A senior police commander in western Afghanistan confirmed the incident but could not say how many civilians died.
"More than 30 people have been killed. I cannot say how many of them are civilians," General Ikramuddin Yawar told Reuters.
A spokesman for the Defence Ministry in Kabul said US special forces and Afghan troops had been carrying out an operation against a commander named Mulla Sidiq, who was planning to attack a US base in Herat. "Twenty-five Taliban were killed, including Sidiq and one other commander," said spokesman General Zaher Azimi.
"Unfortunately, five civilians were killed in the bombing."
Afghanistan has seen a surge in violence this year as the Taliban steps up its campaign of guerrilla attacks, backed by suicide and roadside bombs, to overthrow the pro-western Afghan government and drive out foreign troops.
Meanwhile, soldiers from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) fired artillery rounds into Pakistan from the eastern province of Paktika yesterday in a coordinated attack with the Pakistani military, the Isaf said.
The rounds were fired at militants across the border who the Pakistani military said were preparing to fire rockets at an Isaf base in Paktika, Isaf said in a statement.