Calls to ban 'Israel' from Hiroshima & Nagasaki memorial over Gaza war

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: CNN
20 Jul 2024 18:57
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Activists and Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors are calling for 'Israel's' exclusion from the upcoming August 6th commemoration ceremony, but city authorities have rejected their request.

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In this 1945 file photo, an Allied war correspondent stands in the ruins of Hiroshima, Japan, just weeks after the city was leveled by an atomic bomb (AP)

Many parties, including activists and groups of survivors of the atomic bomb explosion with which the United States targeted the Japanese city of Hiroshima, are demanding that the city authorities disinvite the Israeli occupation from attending the ceremony that will be held on the anniversary of the explosion on August 6.

According to CNN, the demanders emphasized that "the ceremony is no place for Israel," against the backdrop of its continuing genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, where nearly 39,000 people have been martyred, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.

The calls come as "Israel's" genocidal war, armed and supported mainly by the United States, has continued since Oct. 7. The war has been punctuated by repeated calls by Israeli occupation ministers to drop an atomic bomb on the Gaza Strip and "wipe it off the face of the earth."

Despite calls to disinvite the Israeli occupation from attending the ceremony, Hiroshima city authorities say they do not intend to exclude "Israel", according to CNN.

The city, which was destroyed by the US atomic bomb, is witnessing a growing controversy after its officials refused to prevent Israel from attending the ceremony, which "promotes world peace."

Accused of double standards, a spokesperson for the Hiroshima city government claimed "It is not a double standard. Our policy is to invite all countries. However, Russia and Belarus are exceptions due to the invasion of Ukraine."

In turn, authorities in Nagasaki, the second Japanese city on which the United States dropped an atomic bomb in 1945, days after Hiroshima, told CNN that they "have not yet decided whether to invite Israel to the peace ceremony" on August 9.

The authorities added that the Israeli occupation's war on the Gaza Strip may "prevent the smooth execution of the ceremony."

The authorities then explained that this was not, as described by CNN, "a gesture of protest but a practical consideration."

Every year on August 6, Hiroshima, Japan, gathers foreign officials and residents for a minute of silence at 8:15 a.m. to commemorate the exact moment the US atomic bomb that killed tens of thousands and led to the end of World War II was dropped.

Of the two ceremonies, the Hiroshima ceremony is the largest, with representatives from 115 countries and the European Union participating, are scheduled this year.