Following Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki's decision to not invite Israel to the annual ceremony commemorating the atomic bombing of the city in 1945, Western ambassadors will boycott the event. U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel personally informed the mayor that if the Israeli ambassador is not invited, he would not come either.
Instead of going to the Nagasaki ceremony on August 9, Emanuel, together with Israeli Ambassador Gilad Cohen will attend a memorial ceremony for the Nagasaki victims being held in Tokyo, which will take place at exactly at the time as the bomb was dropped 79 years ago. The British Ambassador to Japan, Julia Longbottom, also announced that she would not participate in the ceremony, because Israel was not invited to participate. Longbottom said that unlike Russia, which invaded Ukraine, and Belarus, which cooperated with it, Israel is exercising its right to self-defense in its war with Hamas. Therefore, referring to Israel in the same way would be misleading, she said.
Apart from the U.S. and the UK, the G-7 ambassadors from France, Germany, Italy and Canada also will boycott the ceremony and send junior diplomats. Many of the EU ambassadors will not attend either, including the EU ambassador himself. The Australian and Ukrainian ambassadors also will not take part in the ceremony.
The free world seems to have made it clear to the mayor of Nagasaki that his move is unacceptable. Rahm Emanuel was very adamant about it and was the one who first insisted that Israel be invited.
This incident may prove to be a national embarrassment, as senior Japanese officials are expected to attend the Nagasaki ceremony.
On Tuesday, Cohen participated in the Hiroshima ceremony to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombing of that city. The ceremony also was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, cabinet ministers, the mayor, the district governor, numerous ambassadors and citizens. At 8:15 a.m., the exact moment the U.S. dropped the bomb, a siren rang out and the crowd stood in solidarity.
At the end of the ceremony, Cohen tweeted: "As in previous years, today I was honored to attend the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on behalf of Israel. Paying respect to the families and the people of Japan in memory of those who lost their lives in August 1945. We stand with you in solemn remembrance."
Cohen pointed out that the Hiroshima mayor did the right thing when he invited Israel, a friendly country to Japan, as he had in previous years. "In contrast, the mayor of Nagaski chose to engage in petty politics and hid behind ridiculous 'security' arguments, but in practice chose to invite Iran, Syria, Venezuela and the Palestinians, and exclude us," he added.