Thursday, August 28, 2008

In memoriam

Abie Nathan (1981)

Memorial Rally for Anwar Sadat (1981) Dry Bones cartoon - .
Today's Golden Oldie is from October 26 1981, twenty days after the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

In Israel we were shocked at the lack of public response in Egypt to the murder of our "peace partner". I'm posting this cartoon today because Abie Nathan has just passed away. He was a true Israeli hero.

According to the AP report that's just come in:

Israeli peace pioneer Abie Nathan dies at 81

JERUSALEM (AP) -"Abie Nathan, the peace activist who made a dramatic solo flight to Egypt in a rattletrap single-engine plane and later founded the groundbreaking "Voice of Peace" radio station, died Wednesday. He was 81.

Nathan died at Tel Aviv's Ichilov hospital, the hospital said in a statement.

He burst onto the world of Middle East diplomacy in 1966 with his solo flight 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 launched a long and often eccentric one-man crusade to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.

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 Israeli 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." -more And here is the rest of it.

No comments: