“The images of the children in Gaza covered with blood held by their parents remind me of Japan 80 years ago.”
The co-chair of a Japanese anti-nuclear weapons movement, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, has expressed surprise that the organization won instead of “those fighting hard for peace in Gaza.”
“Never did I dream this could happen. They selected Nihon Hidankyo?” Toshiyuki Mimaki stated at a press conference on Friday. “I thought those fighting hard for peace in Gaza would deserve it.”
The grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, received the Peace Prize “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again,” the Nobel Foundation said in a statement.
"I thought those fighting hard for peace in Gaza would deserve it."
Toshiyuki Mimaki, the Japanese anti-nuclear campaigner whose group, Nihon Hidankyo, won the Nobel Peace Prize, says he was surprised they won the award instead of people working to stop Israel’s war on Gaza. pic.twitter.com/LPMHqGuUzL
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 13, 2024
“The images of the children in Gaza covered with blood held by their parents remind me of Japan 80 years ago,” Mimaki stated, fighting back tears.
“(Children) lost their fathers in the war and lost their mothers with the nuclear bomb.
They became orphans,” the campaigner, who is a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, added.
‘Nuclear Taboo’
The global movement Nihon Hidankyo arose in response to the two American atomic bomb attacks in 1945 that killed more than 200,000 inhabitants of the Japanese towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was formed by survivors of the attacks, known as the Hibakusha.
Big news!! The Nobel Peace Prize went to the Hibakusha—survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki! As they’ve fought for decades to ban nuclear weapons, they see the devastation in Gaza as a haunting echo of 1945. While nuclear powers like the U.S. keep building arsenals, we raise our… pic.twitter.com/G1f8ZxgtKM
— Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin) October 12, 2024
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that the “extraordinary efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives of the Hibakusha have contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo.
“It is therefore alarming that today this taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure.”
Next year will mark 80 years since the attacks, the Committee said, emphasizing that “Today’s nuclear weapons have far greater destructive power. They can kill millions and would impact the climate catastrophically. A nuclear war could destroy our civilisation.”
No Invite for Israeli Officials
In August, the historic city of Nagasaki decided not to invite Israeli officials to its commemoration event to mark the atomic bombings.
Nagasaki’s Mayor defended his decision to invite Palestine, instead of Israel, to the annual memorial for the US 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Despite threats of a boycott of the ceremony from the US and its allies, the mayor, whose parents survived the bombing, stood firm. pic.twitter.com/C7bxCOJAOh
— sarah (@sahouraxo) August 8, 2024
The US and British ambassadors subsequently refused to attend the ceremony.
Nagasaki’s mayor, Shiro Suzuki reportedly said the decision was made to avoid possible protests related to Gaza.
“We made a comprehensive decision not for political reasons. We want to conduct a smooth ceremony in a peaceful and solemn environment,” he said.
‘Strike Nuclear Sites’ – Israeli Officials
Earlier this month, former and current Israeli officials urged Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to strike Iranian oil and nuclear sites.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett called it “a once-in-a-lifetime window of opportunity,” in a Hebrew video statement posted online, the Times of Israel reported, adding that he had repeated the argument in English statements on foreign media platforms.
If not now, when?
NOW is the time to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities and regime.A rare moment of convergence of four elements:
The PLEDGE, the (urgent) NEED, the ABILITY and the JUSTIFICATION.
*The PLEDGE*:
On July 14, 2022 President Biden officially pledged on behalf of…— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) October 8, 2024
“For the first time, we have the ability to act against Iran without fearing a terrible and intolerable reaction,” he reportedly said in the video.
He also posted on X: “If not now, when? NOW is the time to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities and regime.”
Bennet claimed that “Iran has accumulated highly enriched uranium in quantity sufficient to produce ten nuclear warheads.”
“Not only is this the eleventh hour to prevent Iran from going nuclear, it is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do so, since Iran’s defenses – Hezbollah and Hamas – are temporarily severely weakened,” he stated.
‘Take Advantage’
Israel’s former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that Israel “should take advantage” of the current situation to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
‘Once-In-a-Generation Opportunity’ – Israeli Officials Urge Strikes on Iran’s Oil and Nuclear Sites
“Israel should take advantage of the opportunity when there is international legitimacy and destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Shaked stated.
The remarks come nearly a week after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel, striking dozens of targets, including military facilities.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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