The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today joined the international call for the city of Hiroshima in Japan to disinvite Israel from its annual commemoration of the 1945 atomic bombing over the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
On August 6 each year, Hiroshima holds a minute of silence at 8:15 a.m. to mark the moment the atom bomb was dropped, killing and injuring tens of thousands of people. Representatives of Russia and Belarus have been excluded from the commemoration due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The Permanent General Mission of Palestine in Tokyo said it had not been invited to the ceremony.
[NOTE: “Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though the country neither acknowledges nor denies the existence of a nuclear arsenal. Israel is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has not accepted IAEA safeguards on some of its principle nuclear activities.”]
Israel has already slaughtered almost 40,000 people, mostly women and children in Gaza, and destroyed much of the civilian infrastructure in a campaign of ethnic cleansing, forced starvation and genocide.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“It is beyond hypocritical to invite representatives of a nation currently engaged in genocide, ethnic cleansing, forced starvation, and mass destruction of civilian infrastructure to commemorate the tragic loss of civilians in the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima.
“We join the international call for those hosting this year’s commemoration to disinvite Israel as a sign that committing genocide has consequences and as a message to the Palestinian people that they are human beings worthy of life and dignity.”
On Friday, CAIR welcomed a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), or World Court, that Israel’s settlement policies and exploitation of natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant within the next two weeks.
Yesterday, CAIR called on the Biden administration to take action to prevent the spread of polio in Gaza after the virus has been detected in wastewater after the sewage system was devasted by Israel’s ongoing U.S.-enabled genocide.
Also on Friday, CAIR condemned a threat by House Speaker Mike Johnson to arrest lawmakers who protest far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress next week.
He added that CAIR issued and action alert for Americans to call on members of Congress to boycott or protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on July 24th due to his openly racist views, genocidal war crimes, disrespect for the United States, and opposition to a Palestinian state.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com