Missed Opportunity for Japan-Israel Dialogue

Kinue Tokudome

Recently, Japan inexplicably engaged in anti-Israel acts on two separate occasions. These actions not only strained diplomatic ties but also represented a missed opportunity for mutual reflection and understanding between the two nations on a human level.

First, Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki chose not to invite the Israeli Ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, to the annual Peace Memorial Ceremony. Pointing out “the risk of possible protests over the Israel-Hamas war,” he defended his decision that he “only wanted to hold the ceremony in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere.”

The reaction from other G7 nations was swift and unequivocal. Their ambassadors collectively sent a message to Mayor Suzuki, telling him they would not attend unless he reversed his decision.  The Japanese government did not intervene.

Mayor Suzuki stood by his decision, and the remaining G7 nations ultimately followed through on their choice to skip the Peace Memorial Ceremony. Ambassador Cohen declared, “Nagasaki’s decision sends a wrong message to the world.”

Beyond the negative sentiments among the parties, another result of this entire incident was the lost opportunity for the peoples of Japan and Israel to share profound reflections on their historical experiences, such as the atomic bombings and the Holocaust.

A POW Rabbi’s Reflection on Hiroshima

And there is indeed a remarkable story that connects both nations.

It is the story of Rabbi Chaim Nussbaum and his family, whose lives were saved from the Holocaust in 1940 by visas issued by Japanese Consul Chiune Sugihara and Dutch Consul Jan Zwartendijk in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The Nussbaum family, who were Dutch citizens, arrived in Japan safely and went to the Dutch East Indies, today’s Indonesia, where Chaim found jobs as a teacher and Rabbi.

When the Japanese Army invaded there in early 1942, Rabbi Nussbaum enlisted in the Dutch Army and became a POW when it surrendered in March. He was sent to the construction site of the notorious Thai-Burma Railway, where thousands of POWs perished. He could not see his wife and three young children, who were interned in a civilian camp, until the end of the war.

His experience as a POW of the Japanese was chronicled in his memoir, Chaplain on the River Kwai, based on the diary he kept during his captivity. Yet, most entries were not about his own suffering but his desperate efforts to spiritually support Jewish POWs as a Rabbi.

His deep faith shone even amid the cruel treatment meted out by the Japanese Army and the resulting deaths of many of his fellow Jewish POWs.

The following entry to Rabbi Nussbaum’s diary, which he wrote immediately after learning about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, was one of the most profound:

The Bomb: It is difficult for the men to speak about our redeemer, the
Hiroshima bomb. There is inner turmoil over the justification for the bomb.
Did the miracle of our liberation not come at the price of so many Hiroshima civilians?

However, many feel that there are killings done for the sake of killing, but
Hiroshima killings were done for the sake of saving, saving not only us POWs – some hundred thousand semi-civilians – but also millions of Japanese civilians, in a war uselessly extended in a futile defense of their country.

Besides, whose blood is more red, more precious?  It is all so confusing – frustrating our so long hoped-for joy.

It is a tragedy, however, that the bomb was necessary. The Talmudic Sages tell us that when the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea, the angels were going to join Moses and the Jewish people in their visionary victory song. The Creator of Jews and Egyptians then told His angels, the works of My hands are drowning in the sea; is it fitting that you join in the victory Song?

Thus, we may wonder how Moses and his people could sing of redemption and victory over injustice and evil. The answer: The Jews ought to have sung and danced – with intense involvement. It was they who had been enslaved, tortured, and threatened with extinction.

However, the angels were observers from a heavenly perspective; their feelings of joy ought to be dampened by sadness and regret that the Creator’s world is structured such that liberation (from slavery) and redemption had to come at the price of Egyptian lives.

We victims of this war must pray that the Hiroshima bomb shall not be a new beginning of escalating nuclear destruction, but rather the last tool of destruction in our pained generation.

Rabbi Chaim Nussbaum and Hiroshima Memorial

This was written by someone who had just endured three and a half years of suffering as a POW of the Japanese. Rabbi Nussbaum’s reflections on the bomb that ultimately led to his liberation speak to a broader theme of the sanctity of human life. This value resonates deeply in both Jewish and Israeli traditions.

The Value of Human Life to Jewish People

By reading Rabbi Nussbaum’s words, the Japanese people can see the profound importance Jewish people place on the value of human life, even those of their enemies.

Moreover, knowing that Jewish people have cherished human life for thousands of years can help the Japanese people understand why the Israel Defense Forces undertake meticulous efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

Israeli people, in turn, can be one of the most receptive to understanding the human toll of the atomic bombings.

Sadly, the opportunity to share each other’s thoughts through dialogue was lost this summer as the controversy created by Mayor Suzuki’s decision dominated the media coverage.

Today, Rabbi Nussbaum’s grandchildren and their families live in Israel. They would not have been born had the Japanese diplomat Mr. Sugihara not saved Rabbi Nussbaum 84 years ago. I had the privilege of meeting them and seeing how Rabbi Nussbaum’s faith and humanity were passed down to his descendants. They are ideal people with whom Japanese people can learn together what our shared history teaches us.

Japan’s Silence on Six Hostages Murdered by Hamas

Then came the devastating news of six hostages brutally murdered by Hamas. While all other G7 nations quickly issued statements condemning the killings and expressing condolences, the Japanese government remained silent.

This became the second episode of Japan’s heartless treatment of Israel. Why was it so challenging to address the situation in a way that any democratic country might?

Additionally, what has the government’s silence cost the Japanese people? It again deprived them of the chance to engage in meaningful exchange and sharing of sorrow with the people of Israel, who were going through deep mourning.

This missed opportunity was significant. It was to bring the people of Israel and Japan closer together.

Given the growing ties between the two nations in many fields and Japan’s willingness to play a constructive role in bringing peace to the region, there should be no more missed opportunities for the people of Japan and Israel to have an open and honest dialogue.

*The author wrote this piece for the Japanese audience but had difficulty placing it in a Japanese publication.