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By Rachel Dobkin
Weekend Reporter
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United States Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel plans to skip this year's atomic bombing memorial service in Nagasaki due to Israel's exclusion from the event, the embassy announced on Wednesday.
Nagasaki will hold its annual memorial ceremony on Friday to mark the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bomb attack by the U.S. without high-level representation from the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
An atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, destroyed the city and killed tens of thousands of people. While death toll estimates vary, the Associated Press (AP) puts it at 140,000. A second bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later and killed an additional 70,000, according to the AP. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II.
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This year, Nagasaki decided not to invite Israel, citing security concerns amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel's history, killing about 1,200 Israelis and taking around 250 hostages. Israel subsequently launched a military operation in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, with the purpose of wiping out the militant group. Israel's operation in Gaza has killed over 39,580 Gazans so far, according to health officials in the region.
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Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and newly-appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the October 7th attack and Israel's military operation in Gaza.
The U.S. embassy said Emanuel would not attend the memorial because it was "politicized" by Israel's exclusion. Emanuel also told The New York Times that Neagaski should not equate Israel with Russia and Belarus. The two eastern European countries were also not invited amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which is supported by Belarus.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's self-defense are not morally equivalent," Emanuel said.
Emanuel plans to honor the victims of the Nagasaki bombing at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo instead.
British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom also announced her decision to skip the Nagasaki ceremony. In a statement provided to The New York Times, the British Embassy in Tokyo said not inviting Israel "creates an unfortunate and misleading equivalency with Russia and Belarus—the only other countries not invited to this year's ceremony."
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki said the decision not to invite Israel was driven by concern over "possible unforeseen situations" like protests and attacks on attendants. Suzuki added that Nagasaki hoped to honor the atomic bomb victims "in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere."
Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, told CNN: "It has nothing to do with public order."
"I checked it with the relevant authorities that are responsible for public order and security, and there is no obstacle for me to go to Nagasaki," Cohen added. "I am really surprised by him hijacking this ceremony for his political motivations."
Additionally, envoys from five of the Group of Seven (G7) nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K.— and the European Union (EU) signed a joint letter expressing their shared concern about Israel's exclusion.
They argued that treating Israel on the same level as Russia and Belarus was misleading and urged Nagasaki to reverse the decision to preserve the message of the ceremony. The letter emphasized that excluding Israel would make "high-level participation" from their countries difficult.
Meanwhile, Hiroshima included the Israeli ambassador to Japan in its memorial ceremony on Tuesday, which saw attendance from over 50,000 people, including U.S. Ambassador Emanuel. However, Palestinian representatives were not invited.
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