{"id":2306,"date":"2023-09-26T01:13:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T22:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/?p=2306"},"modified":"2023-09-26T20:29:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T17:29:09","slug":"abie-nathan-john-lennon-leonard-cohen-yom-kippur-looking-back-fifty-years-at-israel-in-1973","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/2023\/09\/abie-nathan-john-lennon-leonard-cohen-yom-kippur-looking-back-fifty-years-at-israel-in-1973\/","title":{"rendered":"Abie Nathan, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, Yom Kippur – Looking Back Fifty Years at Israel in 1973"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Avraham \u2018Abie\u2019 Nathan<\/strong> was a Persian born Israeli peace pioneer, peace activist and humanitarian. With the help of many supporters including John Lennon, he bought a Dutch freighter he renamed \u201cThe Peace Ship<\/strong>.\u201d Between 1973 and 1993 Abie sailed along the Israeli coast just outside of its territorial waters. His ship was equipped with a radio station. The Voice of Peace broadcasting from somewhere in the Mediterranean\u2019 <\/strong>was well known throughout the region. (Photo Credit:Hans Pinn\/Israel National Photo Collection) ABIE NATHAN, VOICE OF PEACE<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n**
**
Avraham \u2018Abie\u2019 Nathan was born on April 29, 1927 to a wealthy middle class Jewish Persian family who lived in the city of Abadan, Iran.<\/p>\n
**
He spent his adolescence in Bombay, India (now Mumbai) where he attended a prestigious Jesuit boarding school.<\/p>\n
**
Trained as a pilot in 1944 Abie served in the Royal Air Force. After the war he was a pilot for Air India.<\/p>\n
*
In 1948, Abie volunteered as a combat pilot for Israel during the 1948 Arab\/Israeli War of Independence.<\/p>\n
*
Abie remained in Israel. He worked for El Al Airlines and later became a popular restauranteur introducing American hamburgers to the Israeli public at his\u00a0California Cafe<\/em> \u2013 the \u2018place to be seen\u2019 in the heart of Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n
**
Before the 1965 Knesset elections Abie formed a left wing political party entitled, Nes<\/em> (Hebrew for miracle). Unable to win a seat in the newly elected coalition, Abie declared himself an Ambassador for Peace and flew to Egypt in an airplane he named, \u2018Shalom One\u2019 (Peace One).<\/p>\n
**
When he landed in Port Said, Egypt in 1966, Abie was immediately arrested.<\/p>\n
**
He asked to meet with Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser to deliver his \u2018Petition of Peace\u2019 between Israel and Egypt.<\/p>\n
**
Nasser refused.<\/p>\n
**
**Abie was deported.<\/p>\n
He flew back to Israel, was immediately arrested \u2013 this time for leaving Israel by an illegal route. ABIE NATHAN, PEACENIK & HAMBURGERS<\/a><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Purchased in 1969 with the help of John Lennon, <\/b>Abie Nathan spent the next three years refurbishing the 188 foot Dutch coastal freighter. Renamed \u2018The Peace Ship\u2019 it was a floating radio station. In 1973 he launched, \u2018The Voice of Peace\u2019<\/strong><\/em> famously and easily recognized by its signature \u2018Broadcasting from somewhere in the Mediterranean.\u2019<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0(Photo<\/em> Credit: Wolf Guentertheil\/Public Domain)\u00a0Voice of Peace Radio Station<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Voice of Peace<\/h2>\n***
**
With the help of John Lennon, in 1969, Abie purchased a Dutch 188-foot coastal freighter.<\/p>\n
**
He sailed his newly acquired vessel that he renamed \u2018The Peace Ship\u2019 to New York where he spent the next three years organizing fund raising events to pay for the fixing, refurbishing, sprucing up and transformation of the ship into a floating radio station.<\/p>\n
**
Many international celebrities helped Abie financially including Michael Caine, Zubin Mehta, Gloria Gaynor and Daniel Barenboim. George Harrison purchased and financed installation of radio equipment, while many others including Johnny Mathis and The Carpenters recorded messages of peace.<\/p>\n
**
A generous supporter, John Lennon mentioned \u2018The Peace Ship\u2019 during concert performances of \u2018Give Peace A Chance.\u2019 \u00a0John also signed hundreds of peace posters for Abie to sell or auction off when funds were dwindling.<\/p>\n
**
From its launch in 1973 and over the next 20 years \u2018The Voice of Peace\u2019 transmitted 24\/7.<\/p>\n
**
With several noteworthy British DJs, \u2018The Voice of Peace\u2019 quickly attracted thousands upon thousands of international students, kibbutz volunteers, English speaking citizens and new immigrants and young Israelis, including many soldiers, eager to absorb the \u2018Top 40\u2033 British and American music of the day.<\/p>\n
**
While the programs were primarily in English, Abie also broadcasted in Arabic, French and Hebrew.<\/p>\n
**
(Over the next 20 years, with stronger broadcasting equipment, the \u2018Voice of Peace\u2019 audience expanded into 20 million listeners throughout the Middle East, Southern Europe and Turkey. Seducing sponsorship was a game Abie enjoyed. When Coca Cola refused to participate, Abie asked Israelis to boycott the soda company. Abie spoke Israel listened and Coca Cola very quickly acquiesced).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
**
***\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fifty Years Ago<\/h2>\n*****
**
*****\u00a0<\/p>\n
From the Jerusalem Post, October 7, 1973 reporting the shocking first moments Israel learned war broke out along the border with Egypt. (Photo Credit: Jerusalem Post Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*****
**
\u00a0<\/p>\n
**
On an unusually warm, early autumn day in 1973, hundreds of thousands of Israeli men, women and children walked to their local synagogue.<\/p>\n
**
It was Yom Kippur, \u2018The Day of Atonement.\u2019 It\u2019s singularly the most solemn, sacred and respected of all Jewish holidays.<\/p>\n
**
It is a day of prayer, fasting and contemplation, for this is the moment God closes His Book of Life<\/strong> . Having inscribed the destiny of the collective, the fate of each individual is now sealed for the next 12 months.<\/p>\n
**
According to the Hebraic lunar calendar, Yom Kippur begins on the eve of the tenth day in the month of Tishrei.<\/p>\n
**
Fifty years ago the tenth of Tishrei fell on October 6th.<\/p>\n
**
*****\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yom Kippur in Israel<\/h2>\n*******
**
There\u2019s no traffic, no buses, no transportation on Yom Kippur. Everything is closed \u2013 all shops, restaurants, theaters, cinemas, gas stations and all media outlets are shuttered.<\/p>\n
**
In 1973, Israel\u2019s one television station was shut down along with all radio stations and newspapers. No one even contemplated using a telephone.<\/p>\n
**
To help put this in perspective, fifty years ago there were no home computers, no internet, email, cable news or cell phones. Many homes didn\u2019t have a landline telephone and socialist communities (kibbutzim and moshavim) had at best one or maybe two public telephone lines.<\/p>\n
**
On Yom Kippur 1973, the closest connection Israel had with the outside world was Abie Nathan\u2019s \u2018Voice of Peace.\u2019<\/p>\n
**
At 1pm during the top of the hour news bulletin, the \u2018Voice of Peace\u2019 actually mentioned unconfirmed reports of military activity along the Suez Canal which at that time was the Egyptian border with Israel.<\/p>\n
**
30 minutes later, in order to notify top military personnel, pilots and reservists, telephones were ringing.<\/p>\n
**
Unfortunately, thousands of men were not home. They were in synagogue.<\/p>\n
**
And so at 2pm sirens across the country wailed, terrifying the silence of a nation in prayer.<\/p>\n
**
Egged, the national bus company called their drivers and enforced a major, unprecedented emergency \u2018pick up schedule\u2019 for pilots, military personnel and reservists.<\/p>\n
**
Radio stations started to broadcast passwords for military reserve units signally the time and location of bus pick-ups.<\/p>\n
**
By 4pm all men between the age of 23-50 were well aware they would change into their uniforms and prepare for war.<\/p>\n
**
Throughout every city, town, village, community, in every kibbutz and moshav, \u00a0bomb shelters were cleaned and made ready.<\/p>\n
**
From the late afternoon and throughout the night, mothers and their children, grandparents, foreign volunteers and all civilians living near an Air Force base felt the thunderous vibrations of military planes revving up. Fighter pilots zoomed away while transport planes filled with soldiers and equipment were slower. They flew very low to hopefully avoid radar detection.<\/p>\n
**
Many many planes left, so very few planes returned.<\/p>\n
**
Throughout the duration of the war, many Israelis relied upon Abie Nathan\u2019s \u2018Voice of Peace\u2019 for news and updates. All Israeli news services were under censorship by the government and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), for the news was dreadful, the death of soldiers trapped in tanks was horrific, Israel was losing and its existence was in danger.<\/p>\n
**
*******(Another source of news came from Jordan\u2019s one television station. Although most programs were broadcasted in Arabic, every evening there was an English language news program. If memory serves me, Jordanian TV also broadcasted news in Hebrew).<\/em><\/p>\n
The Face of God<\/h2>\n*********
**
The Hebrew word for wind is \u2018ruach<\/em>.\u2019 The Old Testament meaning of \u2018ruach\u2019<\/em> also refers to \u2018t<\/em>he face of God<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n
**
Amid the endless warnings written by Biblical prophets, it was evident God was angry.<\/p>\n
**
On that day, during the late afternoon, everything changed in one split second. No one in Israel could ignore it.<\/p>\n
**
From the unexpected warmth, wintry clouds appeared across the sky.<\/p>\n
**
Heavy strong winds whistling through tree tops, whipping up dust and fear, quickly changing into a deep wintry chill.<\/p>\n
**
By midnight, the entire military reservists were on their way to war.<\/p>\n
**
By early morning, heard first in the far distance, helicopters were flying into Air Force Bases.<\/p>\n
**
Israeli civilians having experienced war knew \u2013 helicopters meant dead bodies. This was not a good omen.<\/p>\n
**
*********\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leonard \u201cEliezer\u201d Cohen<\/h2>\n
Leonard Cohen came to Israel in October 1973 during the second week of the bloody Yom Kippur War where hundreds upon hundreds of Israeli soldiers died in their tanks. Did his Jewish soul called him home? (Photo Credit: Isaac Shokal, 1973) \u00a0Leonard Cohen, Museum of the Jewish People <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*********
**
Leonard Cohen was born on September 21, 1934 to an observant, orthodox Jewish family who lived in a suburb of Montreal, Canada.<\/p>\n
**
*********His Hebrew name, Eliezer<\/em> means, \u2018God\u2019s help.\u2019<\/p>\n
His first big hit, recorded by Judy Collins was\u00a0Suzanne<\/em>.<\/p>\n
He describes the experience: LEONARD COHEN 1973 CONCERTS IN THE SINAI<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cWe would just drop into little places, like a rocket site and they would shine their flashlights at us and we would sing a few songs. Or they would give us a jeep and we would go down the road towards the front and wherever we saw a few soldiers waiting for a helicopter or something like that we would sing a few songs. And maybe back at the airbase we would do a little concert, maybe with amplifiers. It was very informal, and you know, very intense.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
Leonard Cohen performed three of his signature, most iconic songs that even Israeli soldiers knew: Bird On A Wire, Suzanne<\/em> and So Long Marianne.<\/em><\/p>\n
During this time in the Sinai, he started to write a new song entitled, Lover, Lover, Lover<\/em>\u00a0which he jotted down in his notebook.<\/p>\n
Opening lyrics to Lover, Lover Lover <\/em>are:<\/p>\n
I asked my father,\u00a0***********
I said, \u201cFather change my name.\u201d
The one I\u2019m using now it\u2019s covered up
With fear and filth and cowardice and shame
***********Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me\u2026.<\/p>\n
Link to the official video with lyrics on YouTube: LOVER, LOVER, LOVER<\/a><\/p>\n
I Went Down to the Desert, to Help My Brothers Fight<\/h2>\n
Matti Friedman, a Canadian born Israeli writer and journalist was given permission to explore the private notebooks of Leonard Cohen for a book Friedman published entitled, \u201cWho By Fire: Leonard Cohen In The Sinai.\u201d Matti Friedman \u201cWho By Fire\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
Friedman found in Leonard Cohen\u2019s 1973 notebook, a first draft of his Lover, Lover, Lover\u00a0<\/em>lyrics.<\/p>\n
Although dropped, never used nor recorded, Leonard Cohen sang these lyrics in the Sinai Desert to his Israeli brethren:<\/p>\n
I went down to the desert*************
To help my brothers fight
I knew that they weren\u2019t wrong\u00a0
I knew they weren\u2019t right
But bones must stand up straight and talk
*************And blood must move around<\/div>\n
And men go making ugly lines*************
*************Across the holy ground<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nEpilogue<\/h2>\n***************
**
There\u2019s no need or a desire to write more about the Yom Kippur War.<\/p>\n
**
There are more than enough pundits who write books, articles, give speeches along with filmmakers who focus on a war fought fifty years ago.<\/p>\n
**
Yet there is one last memory to share.<\/p>\n
**
Walking through the deserted streets of Jerusalem in October 1973, in every building mothers and fathers, wives and lovers, sons and daughters, friends and colleagues sat in grief.<\/p>\n
**
So many dead, so many funerals, so many in mourning.<\/p>\n
**
To this very day, that track of desert on both sides of the Suez Canal remains a grave site for many men whose bodies were never retrieved, never identified.<\/p>\n
**
And in Israel, for some unknown reason the lyrics of Leonard Cohen\u2019s Bird On A Wire<\/em> were sung or recited seemingly at memorial after memorial.<\/p>\n
**
***************This is in honor of Leonard Cohen and in memory of all the soldiers who never returned home. May their memories be a blessing upon us all.<\/p>\n
Like a bird on the wire.***************
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Like a worm on a hook
Like a knight from some old fashioned book
***************I have saved all my ribbons for thee.<\/div>\n
If I, if I have been unkind***************
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If I, if I have been untrue
***************I hope you know it was never to you.<\/div>\n
Oh, like a baby stillborn***************
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.
But I swear by this song
And by all that I have done wrong
***************I will make it all up to thee.<\/div>\n
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch***************
He said to me, \u201cYou must not ask for so much.\u201d
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door
***************She cried to me, \u201cHey, why not ask for more?\u201d<\/div>\n
Oh, like a bird on the wire***************
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
***************I have tried in my way to be free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
BIRD ON A WIRE YOUTUBE WITH LYRICS<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n***************
**
\u00a0<\/p>\n
**
\u2026to be continued<\/h2>\n
**
\u00a0<\/p>\n
**
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
**
***************\u00a0 Avraham \u2018Abie\u2019 Nathan was born on April 29, 1927 to a wealthy middle class Jewish Persian family who lived in the city of Abadan, Iran. He spent his adolescence in Bombay, India (now Mumbai) where he attended a prestigious Jesuit boarding school. Trained as a pilot in 1944 Abie served in the Royal Air […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4896,"featured_media":2309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1595,1580,1592,771,1586,1601,1631,1104,783,1598,1577,1625,1634,1571,1637,795,1628,1604,1098,1607,1,1583,1589,1574],"tags":[1613,1640,12,1619,1610,1616],"class_list":["post-2306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1595","category-abie-nathan","category-bird-on-a-wire","category-current-affairs","category-day-of-atonement","category-egypt","category-george-harrison","category-idf","category-israel","category-israeli-history","category-john-lennon","category-johnny-mathis","category-judy-collins","category-leonard-cohen","category-matti-friedman","category-memories","category-michael-caine","category-president-gamal-nasser","category-prophets","category-sinai-desert","category-uncategorized","category-voice-of-peace","category-war","category-yom-kippur","tag-abie-nathan","tag-george-harrison","tag-israel","tag-john-lennon","tag-leonard-cohen","tag-yom-kippur"],"yoast_head":"\nAbie Nathan, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, Yom Kippur - Looking Back Fifty Years at Israel in 1973<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Leonard Cohen came to Israel in October 1973 during the bloody Yom Kippur War. 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Born in Jersey City, growing up two hours north of New York City the heart of the 'Borscht Belt,' from the age of eight I received a wonderful, intense education in the world of music, theatre, art, ballet and creative writing. My first spiritual mentor was the larger-than-life, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach who, with his passion and songs instilled in me the joy of loving God. My second spiritual mentor is the mystical, magical Siddha Master, Jivanmukta Swami Ganapati. He has been my guide, my teacher, my focus for 33 years. Parallel to my spiritual journey, my art (with great amusement) often intersects with my worldly life. While living in London, employed by the budding Walker Books Children's Book Publishing Company, my watercolors were invited to over a dozen competitions and two solo exhibitions. Having transitioned to the world of digital art, I created my techniques that resemble watercolor subtlety. 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Born in Jersey City, growing up two hours north of New York City the heart of the 'Borscht Belt,' from the age of eight I received a wonderful, intense education in the world of music, theatre, art, ballet and creative writing. My first spiritual mentor was the larger-than-life, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach who, with his passion and songs instilled in me the joy of loving God. My second spiritual mentor is the mystical, magical Siddha Master, Jivanmukta Swami Ganapati. He has been my guide, my teacher, my focus for 33 years. Parallel to my spiritual journey, my art (with great amusement) often intersects with my worldly life. While living in London, employed by the budding Walker Books Children's Book Publishing Company, my watercolors were invited to over a dozen competitions and two solo exhibitions. Having transitioned to the world of digital art, I created my techniques that resemble watercolor subtlety. Between 2021-2022 a selection of my digital paintings participated in 60 international exhibitions, competitions and publications \u2013 recipient of 39 awards and citations. A citizen of Israel for over 4 decades, I was a volunteer on Kibbutz Hulda, founding member of Kibbutz Samar, served in the IDF\/NAHAL, and I'm the former Festival Coordinator\/Guest Hospitality for the Jerusalem Film Festival & Cinematheque.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/judithlungen9238\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/judithlungen9238","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/judith-lungen-9367941b9\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/author\/jlungen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecommonalityofhumanity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}