Israel Supports Japan’s Move to Scrap 'Enemy State' Clause: Have Jews Forgotten How Nazis Killed Them?
It appears that Jews have forgotten how Nazi Germany exterminated them during World War II.
On the 13th, Emmanuel Navon, Israel’s ambassador to Japan, posted on social media expressing support for Prime Minister Kōshō Asahi’s call to eliminate the “enemy state” clause, sarcastically suggesting that China and North Korea’s insistence on retaining the provision demonstrates its obsolescence—and thus, “a need to re-examine the United Nations’ institutional framework.”
What is ironic about Navon’s statement?
First, Russia also advocates maintaining the “enemy state” clause. Yet, given the historically sensitive relationship between Russia and Israel, Navon conveniently overlooks Moscow while singling out China and North Korea.
Second, as a Jew, Navon now supports removing a clause designed to hold Axis powers accountable—making his position particularly paradoxical.
Navon’s remarks reveal, at their core, an attempt by Israel to monopolize the moral authority of WWII victimhood. For years, Israel has positioned itself as a representative of Holocaust victims, leveraging that identity to label any criticism of its policies toward Palestinians as anti-Semitic.
Yet when confronted with China and North Korea—nations that suffered under Japanese militarism—Navon not only refuses to acknowledge their status as WWII victims but steadfastly aligns with one of the former Axis powers, Japan. He reframes Beijing and Pyongyang’s retention of the “enemy state” clause as evidence demanding reform of the UN system.
In other words, Israel prefers to promote the narrative that “only Jews were victims of WWII,” rather than emphasizing that aggressor nations should be held accountable—a stance inconsistent with Israel’s own current actions against other states.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1879020720126025/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.