Abie Nathan
The Israeli who was a one-man peace movement
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The Israeli who was a one-man peace movement
Abie Nathan
1927–2008
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Feb. 28, 1966, an old biplane rattled to a stop in Port Said, Egypt. Out stepped Abie Nathan, a former Israeli air force pilot, who said he wanted to talk with President Gamal Abdel Nasser about making peace with his country. Egyptian authorities sent him back the next day. But Nathan’s quixotic gesture won the hearts of his countrymen, and he came to represent the Middle East peace movement that culminated in the 1978 Camp David agreement and 1993 Oslo accords.
Born in Iran and educated in India, Nathan flew in Britain’s Royal Air Force, “emigrated to the new state of Israel, and volunteered as a combat pilot in the 1948 war,” said The New York Times. A natural entrepreneur, he opened an American-style diner that helped popularize the hamburger in his new land. But his heart was set on more serious matters. After a failed run for the Knesset in 1965, he lobbied world leaders to bring Israel and the Arab world together. In 1973, following several unsuccessful peace flights, Nathan bought a 188-foot freighter that he anchored off Tel Aviv. Turning it into a pirate radio station, he broadcast music and messages of reconciliation. “The Peace Ship is a project of the people,” he declared. “We hope through this station we will help relieve the pain and heal the wounds of many years of suffering.”
“Nathan was called a crackpot and a prophet,” said the Associated Press. He went on repeated hunger strikes, and his government jailed him several times for illegally meeting with Yasser Arafat and other leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization. But his sincerity was so quirky and appealing that he became a national treasure. “During one prison furlough, he was honored with a banquet by the cream of the Israeli establishment.” When Israel and the PLO signed their peace agreement in 1993, Nathan, who was having financial difficulties at the time, celebrated by sinking the Peace Ship, which had been a financial drain.
Nathan died after being left partly paralyzed by two strokes. Asked what he wanted carved on his tombstone, he replied, “Nissiti”—the Hebrew word for “I tried.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
China: a superpower’s slump
The Explainer After 40 years of explosive growth, China’s economy is now in deep distress — with no turnaround in sight
By The Week Staff
-
Retirees’ biggest surprise expense
Feature And more of the week's best financial insight
By The Week Staff Published
-
The United Auto Workers’ strike has put Democrats in a bind
Feature President Biden will have to pick a side in the dispute
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everage
feature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s look
feature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
By The Week Staff Published
-
Phyllida Barlow obituary: renowned sculptor who was also an influential art teacher
feature The teacher and artist found her passion later in life, focusing most of her pieces on the instability of modern architecture
By The Week Staff Published
-
Chaim Topol: Israeli actor beloved for his role in Fiddler on the Roof
feature From military service to an Oscar nomination, Topol followed a unique path to stardom
By The Week Staff Published