Abie Nathan's sad celebration

He is alive and breathing, and in the past three years has been living in the nursing department of the "Small Tel Aviv" elderly citizens' home.

Every month, a small group of friends comes to sing and make Abie happy. This week, a special celebration was held for Hanukkah, accompanied by sufganiyot (traditional holiday doughnuts) and a candle lighting ceremony.

Nathan, whose ability to talk has been impaired following four cerebrovascular accident, said the candle lighting blessing in a weak voice.

"It's sad to see how such a great person ends his life in solitude," his friends and team of therapists said sadly.

Iris Ganor and Uzi Weiss came to sing to Nathan three years ago, and have since them been arriving there every month.

Ganor says, "We were supposed to perform in a one-time performance, but after we saw how happy Aibe is to sing the songs which accompanied him all his life, we turned the visits into a monthly routine. It's happy, but it's also sad. It's sad to see that everyone forgot about him, expect a small group of five people, some of whom didn’t even know him in his good old days."

'Abie is the same Abie'

Noam Tal met Abie Natan four years ago, and has been visiting him once a week ever since. Tal tells of the peace campaigner's way of life.

"Abie lives his life. Every day he watches the news on television and listens to the radio, tries to communicate with people. The man who cared for thousands of people in Israel and the world is trying to keep on helping.

"I remember when we watched television during the tsunami, and he was moved and said that it hurts him that in his condition he cannot get up and help. It's painful to see a man who helped and gave to everyone is now left alone. Actors and bohemians, who knew how to be around him in the good old days at his California restaurant, have not come to visit him even once."

The people closest to him these days are the team of nurses and therapists at the elderly citizens' home. The head nurse, Esti Tennenbaum Herut, says, "It hurts us that people think Abie Nathan is dead. It's important to say that he is alive and knows what is going on. He is physically limited because of the stroke, but he is still a good soul, very sensitive."

Aibe, she says, is the same Aibe. "Every time he gets something, he feels the need to give it to everyone. A while ago, when one of the patients in the department tried to raise his hand on me, Aibe started to cry and said that he is not ready for violence. He is a peace campaigner to this day."