14 July 2004

Sad News

Nick Pretzlik, a friend of Palestine and mine, died yesterday in London. Nick, 58, was an exemplary English gentleman; tall and slim, well-born, studied in Eton, lived in a large and hospitable house in Kensington, was a friend of high and mighty, but his heart pushed him to new adventures. A keen sportsman, mountaineer and trekker, he trekked the whole length of Patagonia, climbed Himalaya Mountains, until he discovered the highest mountain and the hardest trek of all, that of Palestine.

Since then he travelled to our land many times and spend days and weeks in Jenin and Nablus, among Bedouins of Negev and peasants of Galilee. Nick and his wonderful wife Ursula stayed in refugee camps, collected books and money for the refugees, even adopted Atef, a gifted young man from Gaza to help him to complete his education. Nick‚s fight against oppression in Palestine was a part and parcel of his world view, liberal at first and radical later. It is a plain distinction – liberal is for Israeli withdrawal, a radical – for full equality in all of Palestine, from the River to the Sea. Nick wrote:

“Why do Israeli Jews ignore the obvious alternative – a dynamic, secular state incorporating Jews and Palestinians with equal rights for all?”

He discovered that oppression is not limited by the Green Line, and the 1967‚ occupation is not the only thing that is wrong in the Holy Land. He also noticed the forces abroad that push for oppression. He wrote well, and his reports from Palestine were among most frequently forwarded on the Web. In one of the last pieces, he wrote:

“The Zionist dream of Greater Israel may be on life support, but it is not yet dead. The Iraq war is part of a process. It is an Israeli war and others are planned to follow. The time has come for the world to wake up – the Barbarians are already at the gates”.

His death is a heavy blow to the cause of Palestine, and to us, his friends who benefited from his delightful company and human spirit. We shall miss him while defending the gates. Indeed, when a few days ago we discussed possibility of Israeli-American attack on Syria, Nick was prepared to travel to Damascus to defend this ancient city. Now we will have to do it without him. The bicycle marathon London-Jerusalem he planned to participate will go without him, but it should be given the name of Pretzlik Ride. My deep condolences to Ursula and to their sons.

Israel Adam Shamir
Jerusalem
israelshamir.net