curupira
08-26-2013, 12:05 PM
Israel forced to apologise to Japan over offensive Hiroshima comments
Head of online public diplomacy disparaged commemorations for victims of atomic bombs in Facebook posting
Daniel Seaman called Japan's commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims 'self-righteous'.
Israel has been forced to issue a formal apology to Japan over offensive comments posted on Facebook by its head of online public diplomacy.
The apology followed a complaint by the Japanese ambassador to Israel, Hideo Sato, after senior government official Daniel Seaman disparaged commemorations for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombs, causing a wave of protests in Japan.
"I am sick of the Japanese, 'Human Rights' and 'Peace' groups the world over holding their annual self-righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims," Seaman wrote on his Facebook page. "Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the consequence of Japanese aggression. You reap what you sow."
According to the Haaretz newspaper, Israel's ambassador in Tokyo, Nissim Ben-Shitrit, was forced to embark on a damage control exercise. "The incident is very slowly subsiding, but it's too early to assess the damage to Israel's image that it caused," the Israeli embassy in Tokyo wrote in a cable to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem.
The apology was issued by Ya'akov Amidror, national security adviser to the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. A government official said the incident was "one of the least comfortable moments for Israel in Japan".
Seaman, a former director of the government press office who has a reputation for being abrasive, recently took up a new post to promote positive images of Israel on social media networks. He has since been suspended and is under orders not to speak to the media.
The comments about Japan were part of a string of strongly worded postings by Seaman over recent months.
They included a response to a demand by the Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, for an end to new settlement expansion that read: "Is there a diplomatic way of saying 'Go F*** yourself'?"
At the start of Ramadan, Seaman posted: "Does the commencement of the fast of the Ramadan means [sic] that Muslims will stop eating each other during the daytime?"
In response to a Church of Scotland report that argued that Jews do not have a divine right to the land, he wrote: "Why do they think we give a flying F*** what you have to say?"
In a statement last week, Israel's National Information Directorate said: "Danny Seaman's statements on Facebook are unacceptable and do not express the view of the Israeli government. The directorate instructed Seaman to immediately refrain from making such statements."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/israel-apologise-japan-offensive-facebook-comments
What about the Holocaust memorial in Hong Kong? What do the Chinese have to do with the 2nd World War? I mean, what if the Chinese built memorials in Israel for remembering what they had to endure under the Japanese? Wouldn't it look pushy?
Holocaust centre opens in Hong Kong
By Erica Lyons, June 14, 2012
Follow The JC on Twitter
The Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre (HKHTC), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, across Asia, of education and awareness of the Holocaust, has opened.
The new centre is housed in the Carmel School Association’s Elsa High School. Jeremy Amias, a former Londoner, and long-standing member of Hong Kong’s Jewish community, serves as director of the HKHTC.
Just prior to the official opening on Monday 14 May, Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, one of the youngest survivors of Buchenwald, was present to address an audience of over 300 local Hong Kong students.
Chief Rabbi Lau was also guest of honour for the formal launch ceremony, where he spoke to a group that included prominent community leaders as well as diplomats representing a number of nations.
Chief Rabbi Lau was warmly received by Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary of Administration, Stephen Lam Sui-lung, who also delivered an address.
Rachel Friedmann, Head of Carmel School Association’s Elsa High School, former deputy head of Hasmonean, said: “History is being made today in Hong Kong with the opening of the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre. Education is the only road that truly leads to tolerance and the strengthening of cultural ties between the Chinese and Jewish people.”
http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/68824/holocaust-centre-opens-hong-kong
Head of online public diplomacy disparaged commemorations for victims of atomic bombs in Facebook posting
Daniel Seaman called Japan's commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims 'self-righteous'.
Israel has been forced to issue a formal apology to Japan over offensive comments posted on Facebook by its head of online public diplomacy.
The apology followed a complaint by the Japanese ambassador to Israel, Hideo Sato, after senior government official Daniel Seaman disparaged commemorations for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombs, causing a wave of protests in Japan.
"I am sick of the Japanese, 'Human Rights' and 'Peace' groups the world over holding their annual self-righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims," Seaman wrote on his Facebook page. "Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the consequence of Japanese aggression. You reap what you sow."
According to the Haaretz newspaper, Israel's ambassador in Tokyo, Nissim Ben-Shitrit, was forced to embark on a damage control exercise. "The incident is very slowly subsiding, but it's too early to assess the damage to Israel's image that it caused," the Israeli embassy in Tokyo wrote in a cable to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem.
The apology was issued by Ya'akov Amidror, national security adviser to the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. A government official said the incident was "one of the least comfortable moments for Israel in Japan".
Seaman, a former director of the government press office who has a reputation for being abrasive, recently took up a new post to promote positive images of Israel on social media networks. He has since been suspended and is under orders not to speak to the media.
The comments about Japan were part of a string of strongly worded postings by Seaman over recent months.
They included a response to a demand by the Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, for an end to new settlement expansion that read: "Is there a diplomatic way of saying 'Go F*** yourself'?"
At the start of Ramadan, Seaman posted: "Does the commencement of the fast of the Ramadan means [sic] that Muslims will stop eating each other during the daytime?"
In response to a Church of Scotland report that argued that Jews do not have a divine right to the land, he wrote: "Why do they think we give a flying F*** what you have to say?"
In a statement last week, Israel's National Information Directorate said: "Danny Seaman's statements on Facebook are unacceptable and do not express the view of the Israeli government. The directorate instructed Seaman to immediately refrain from making such statements."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/israel-apologise-japan-offensive-facebook-comments
What about the Holocaust memorial in Hong Kong? What do the Chinese have to do with the 2nd World War? I mean, what if the Chinese built memorials in Israel for remembering what they had to endure under the Japanese? Wouldn't it look pushy?
Holocaust centre opens in Hong Kong
By Erica Lyons, June 14, 2012
Follow The JC on Twitter
The Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre (HKHTC), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, across Asia, of education and awareness of the Holocaust, has opened.
The new centre is housed in the Carmel School Association’s Elsa High School. Jeremy Amias, a former Londoner, and long-standing member of Hong Kong’s Jewish community, serves as director of the HKHTC.
Just prior to the official opening on Monday 14 May, Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, one of the youngest survivors of Buchenwald, was present to address an audience of over 300 local Hong Kong students.
Chief Rabbi Lau was also guest of honour for the formal launch ceremony, where he spoke to a group that included prominent community leaders as well as diplomats representing a number of nations.
Chief Rabbi Lau was warmly received by Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary of Administration, Stephen Lam Sui-lung, who also delivered an address.
Rachel Friedmann, Head of Carmel School Association’s Elsa High School, former deputy head of Hasmonean, said: “History is being made today in Hong Kong with the opening of the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre. Education is the only road that truly leads to tolerance and the strengthening of cultural ties between the Chinese and Jewish people.”
http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/68824/holocaust-centre-opens-hong-kong