Somewhere In the Mediterranean

It was 1973 and somewhere in the Mediterranean, John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" crossed the ocean to Arabic and Israeli listeners on land. The music came from a 188-foot coastal freighter manned by a small, eclectic crew of various nationalities. Abie Nathan was the brains behind this pirate radio station. Abie named his boat The Peace Ship and in between top forty hits, he pleaded with his audience to end violence in the Middle East. "No more war, no more bloodshed," his voice rang out over the radio waves. Abie operated his floating radio station for many years. In the late seventies, he sailed the boat through the Suez Canal, dropping off a cargo for children. He finally ran out of money in the mid eighties and tried to turn his ship into a peace museum. He couldn't raise the funds and obtained a permit to sink his boat. The boat's last broadcast was Pete Seeger's "We Shall Overcome." Abie looked on, saddened as his Peace Ship drifted to the ocean floor. His radio station was silenced, but he didn't give up.

Abie Nathan didn't start out as a peace activist, He was born in Iran in 1927, to a Jewish family. He was educated in India by Jesuit priests and he eventually emigrated to Israel. He fought with the British in World War II, as a fighter pilot. He also served with the Israeli Air force in the late forties, defending the creation of Israel as a new state. It was this witness to the atrocities of war and the influence of his parents, whom he called gentle people, that turned his life to peace. He is still haunted by his bomber pilot days. In an interview later in his life, he reveals that he believes his retribution came in the form of a stroke he suffered. This stroke has left him partially paralyzed and in chronic pain. He accepts the punishment, but he thinks it's a little harsh. Abie says, if he could, he would lodge a complaint with God.

After his stints in the Air Force, Abie Nathan staged his first peace mission in 1966 when he flew a plane, The Shalom One, from Israel to Egypt. Nobody dared join him. He was considered a radical, a crackpot, an Israeli romantic. He soared high and proud, undetected by the Egyptian air defense system. He was determined to deliver a peace petition with thousands of signatures. When Abie reached Egypt, he was arrested and returned to Israel. On his next mission, he tried a different approach, flying all over the world to meet with leaders like the Pope and Robert Kennedy. He pleaded with them to help end the fighting between Arabs and Israelis. After these meetings, he decided to fly to Egypt once more, hoping to start the reconciliation process. Egyptians sent him back to Israel, where he was once again thrown in jail for making contact with the enemy.

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