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Group from Israel and Palestine listens to A-bomb survivor, learns importance of mutual understanding

by Takeshi Kikumoto, Staff Writer

Government officials and business people from Israel and Palestine visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on November 6 and listened to an A-bomb survivor, Masaaki Tanabe, 76, a resident of Nishi Ward who has produced animated films of the former townscape of the hypocenter area through the use of computer graphics.

Ten people, ranging in age from 24 to 47 years old, listened to Mr. Tanabe, who lost his parents and his younger brother due to the atomic bombing. Mr. Tanabe told them what he witnessed when he returned to Hiroshima on August 8 from the village where he had been evacuated and how he used to feel hatred toward the United States.

One of the participants from Palestine asked Mr. Tanabe how he was able to forgive. Mr. Tanabe replied that he cannot forgive the atomic bombing, but he stressed the importance of mutual exchange, saying, “When I met American people and talked with them, I was no longer able to hate them.”

After hearing his account, the visitors toured Peace Memorial Park with Mr. Tanabe. Amira Oron, 47, a government official from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “I was moved. We must deepen our mutual understanding with the citizens of Palestine.” Abdallah Awwad, 27, an official of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said, “When I return to Palestine, I want to tell people that Japan and Hiroshima decided not to seek revenge but to rebuild life.”

The delegation, invited by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is visiting Japan as part of a peace studies program for young people with responsibility for the future of the Middle East.

(Originally published on November 7, 2014)

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