Israeli radio listeners may come to rue the pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Longtime peace activist Abie Nathan, citing mounting debts as well as the fulfillment of his dream of peace, has announced that his Voice of Peace radio station will fall silent on Oct. 1.
Since 1973, Nathan has broadcast a mixture of pro-peace news and popular music in English, Hebrew and Arabic from a World War II-era ship anchored just outside Israel’s territorial waters.
Israel made no efforts to silence Nathan’s technically illegal station, which polls at times rated the most popular in the country.
Nathan, 66, began his one-man campaign for peace in 1970, when he flew his private, singleseater plane to Egypt to try to make peace with former President Anwar Sadat. He twice served prison sentences for illegal meetings with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.
Nathan says the main motives for stopping his broadcasts are economics and safety.
For some years he has been supporting his floating station by accepting commercials. He has made enough money not only to operate the vessel but also to pay for his many worldwide pro-peace and anti-poverty causes, which include helping the victims of natural disasters.
But his revenues have fallen to the point where he says he dreads another winter, when lack of adequate maintenance endangers the vessel.
Nathan says the only piece of equipment he will take ashore with him will be the vessel’s steering wheel, which he plans to use as the centerpiece for the decoration of the new cafe-restaurant he plans to open.
The sinking of the Voice of Peace will leave Channel 7 as the only pirate radio station broadcasting toward Israel. Launched a few years back by the Gush Emunim settlers movement, Channel 7 is a mixture of Hebrew music, religious programming and a political perspective 180 degrees away from Nathan’s.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
