November 14, 2012

Resurrecting The Peace Ship: Abie Nathan - In Memory

Abie Nathan was a volunteer pilot in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War who became an Israeli peace activist. He is viewed as one of the greatest Israelis. He thought his work for peace and equal co-existence was done in 1993, when the Oslo Peace Accords were signed. But 9/11 (a Mossad-CIA job) made war a permanent feature in the lives of Israelis and Palestinians for the foreseeable future. 9/11 also brought America into the picture which pleased Israel's extremist rulers.

The most recent aggression against Gaza by the Israeli military is a reminder that war is easy and peace is hard. But the international community cannot give up. It is our duty as global citizens to carry on Abie Nathan's mission and bring peace to Israel and Palestine.

Here is an excerpt from his Wikipedia bio:
In 1973, Nathan founded the Voice of Peace radio station. He bought a ship with the help of John Lennon, named it the "Peace Ship", and sailed it outside Israeli territorial waters. The station broadcast 24 hours a day, mostly English-language programs that mainly included popular music, while promoting Nathan's political activities. At the same time, he was involved[how?] with disaster relief in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Biafra, Colombia, and Ethiopia. In another anti-war protest, he presided over the burial of smashed military toys.

On 1 October 1993, economic and legal difficulties forced Nathan to close the Voice of Peace station. One of the reasons for closing was that, with the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords, Nathan felt that his message for peace and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians had been spread. The Peace Ship was scuttled on 28 November 1993. 
On this day we should symbolically resurrect the peace ship and spread the message of peace on the Internet. The global alternative media can be a mighty ship for peace and understanding in the volatile sea of totalitarian propaganda and disinformation.

"Usually, politicians feel that the making of peace is strictly the monopoly of politicians, and that there is no role for the individual. And throughout history it is the individual that spoke out, created a climate that enabled politicians to change their minds and to change their policies." - Abie Nathan.