On of Israel’s most colorful characters was buried in Eilat Sunday.
Rafi Nelson, founder, owner and manager of the Rafi Nelson Holiday Village, in the Taba area near Eilat, collapsed and died of a heart attack Saturday at the age of 58.
The bearded, one-eyed Nelson founded his vacation resort on the sand dunes of Taba on the Red Sea immediately after Sinai was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Modeled after Club Mediterranee, the resort was frequented by a clientele often described as hedonistic.
The future of the resort, and of the luxurious Sonesta Hotel built adjacent to it several years ago, is in doubt. Israel and Egypt, which both claim ownership of Taba, have submitted their dispute to binding arbitration by a panel of international lawyers. The procedure is presently under way in Geneva.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
