2024-08-07 19:07:41
The city of Nagasaki in Japan has not invited Israel to a ceremony to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombing of the city. The US and Britain have decided to support Jerusalem and have announced in response that they will not attend the event either.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo announced today that Ambassador Rahm Emanuel has decided not to attend the ceremony due to the decision not to invite Israel. The embassy also said that Ambassador Emanuel will attend a smaller, more private ceremony in Tokyo.
Julia Longbottom, Britain’s ambassador to Japan, also announced she would not attend the ceremony in Nagasaki on Friday, saying the decision not to invite Israel to the event “sends the wrong signal.”
The city of Nagasaki decided not to invite Gilad Cohen, Israel’s ambassador to Japan, to the Aug. 9 memorial ceremony out of concern that pro-Palestinian protests and demonstrations against him would undermine the ceremony’s dignity. The city did, however, invite the Palestinian diplomatic representative in Tokyo to the ceremony.
Several foreign ambassadors to Japan, including those from Canada, Italy, France, Germany and the European Union, have sent protest letters to the Japanese Foreign Ministry over the decision to boycott Israel at the Nagasaki ceremony. Longbottom, the British ambassador, said that boycotting Israel at the ceremony could create the false impression that Israel is being treated in the same way as Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
In recent weeks, various organizations, including pro-Palestinian groups, have put intense pressure on the city governments of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to boycott Israel at the ceremonies. “Why invite Israel when it is committing crimes resembling genocide, just like Russia and Belarus?” said Tsugiji Komeda, head of the Japan Confederation of Atomic Bomb Survivors. “It is very disappointing that our request is not being considered.” He noted that his organization had sent a letter to the Hiroshima authorities in June asking them to rescind the invitation to Israel.
Incidentally, yesterday Ambassador Gilad Cohen took part in the ceremony held in Hiroshima.
A spokesman for the city of Hiroshima, where 115 countries have been invited to the ceremony, said he would not listen to calls not to invite Israel: “This is not a double standard. Our policy is to invite all countries. However, Russia and Belarus were excluded because of the invasion of Ukraine.”
Hiroshima Palestine, another group opposed to Israel’s presence at the memorial ceremonies, launched an online petition calling for Israel’s representatives not to be invited. A source from the group stressed that “protests against Israel around the world are becoming larger and more frequent compared to protests against Russia.” The online petition against inviting Israel has garnered tens of thousands of messages of support.
Earlier, Cursor wrote that “Zionists” were accused of a gender scandal at the Olympics.