MINANO, Saitama Prefecture--Furniture maker Dani Nehushtai believes the low, round dining tables called “chabudai” best represent his idea for promoting peace.

The tables have no corners, allowing people to gather in a happy circle at equal distance from the person seated on the opposite side, the 68-year-old Jewish craftsman said.

Nehushtai, a former member of the Israeli military, started building furniture in Japan and spreading messages of peace long before the current nightmare unfolded in the Middle East.

His picture book, “Dani-san no Chabudai” (Dani’s chabudai), published in August, is intended to inspire children to reject violence as a means to resolve disputes.

He also hopes his pacifist message will reach parents and adults.

READY TO DEFEND HOMELAND

Nehushtai runs his Wood Work Studio Nagariya in Minano town in Saitama Prefecture on the outskirts of Tokyo.

He set up the shop 36 years ago with his wife, Kahoru Yoshikawa, after an apprenticeship at a furniture company in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Nehushtai first visited Japan in 1979 during a months-long trip around Asia after completing his military service in Israel.

He returned to Japan in 1984, and decided to build furniture for a living, a craft he had long been interested in.

His first piece was a chabudai ordered by a friend.

Although he has made similar tables over the years, he believes the furniture, once a fixture in Japanese homes, best captures the spirit of trying to create peace.

But he did not always have such pacifist thoughts.

Growing up in Israel, he understood that fighting war to defend the country was always a possibility, and he had little doubt that dying for his homeland would be a great honor.

War monuments feature prominently in Israel to remind citizens of their obligation to take up arms when necessary.

An old fighter plane was on display in the yard of his elementary school. And military parades were the main event when Israel celebrated its Independence Day.

All Israelis, excluding Arabs, who meet conscription criteria must serve in the military. The minimum service terms are three years for men and two years for women.

When he was conscripted after graduating from high school, Nehushtai was elated because he could join the elite Israeli Air Force.

During training, he was told that his combat plane would help Israeli children sleep safe and sound at night.

But it never crossed his mind that his actions could cause sleepless nights for children in neighboring regions.

His confidence in Israel’s narrative to justify military action for defense began to erode following the country’s large-scale assault against Hamas, the governing Islamist militant group, in Gaza that started in December 2008.

The three-week attack in Gaza resulted in 13 Israeli deaths. The death toll of the Palestinians was estimated at around 1,400, including many children.

Since then, Nehushtai has feared that Israelis would grow numb to violence and lose the ability to halt an escalation of their military campaigns.

Nehushtai feels this is human nature.

Even his relatives and friends in Israel who used to champion diplomatic efforts to resolve disagreements defended Israel’s military action in 2008, saying it had no other choice.

Nehushtai has watched his nightmare scenario play out.

Since Hamas’ surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Jewish state has conducted a brutal and continuous retaliation campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians. The Israeli death toll in the conflict is around 1,600.

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT

“War takes a heavy toll on every individual emotionally and psychologically in various ways over the course of many years,” Nehushtai said.

His grandfather on his father’s side was born in the Polish town of Oswiecim, which later became the site of the Auschwitz death camp of Nazi Germany.

The grandfather had immigrated to what is now Israel before the concentration camp was built.

However, he later took his own life.

Nehushtai’s father also committed suicide.

In 2009, Nehushtai began to speak against war, sharing his own experiences and perspectives at schools and gatherings of local government employees.

On one occasion, a man in the audience said he had always hated his father for using violence against his family.

But after hearing Nehushtai’s words, the man said he believed the trauma his father suffered from his experiences in World War II was behind his violent behavior.

Nehushtai is concerned that Israeli soldiers who have faith in the Israeli government’s words will later be tormented by the consequences of their actions.

SPREADING THE MESSAGE

The furniture maker believes children have the ability to take to heart his message that war should be avoided at all costs.

When his desire to publish a picture book for children grew, he received an unexpected offer from publisher Imagination +/Press Inc.

Nehushtai enlisted Shingo Narukawa to provide the drawings for the book.

Narukawa, based in Nagoya, had listened to Nehushtai’s speeches and offered ideas for the book.

The artist was impressed that Nehushtai, who had once dedicated his life to defending Israel, quickly made friends with a man from “enemy state” Syria who was selling kebab in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park in 1979.

Narukawa said he wanted his art to underscore the contrast between combat planes lined up alongside weapons and Nehushtai’s meticulous crafting of a low, round dining table that symbolizes peace.

Narukawa said he hopes his drawings of various families will remind readers that everyone, including those perceived as enemies, has somebody they hold dear.

Nehushtai said he is also concerned about the growing chants of the “Japanese first” slogan, which rose in the July Upper House election.

“You should not distinguish people based on nationality, gender, disability, enemy or ally, winner or loser and other attributes because the moment you do it, it would only escalate,” he said. “And when you see it is happening, you should not turn a blind eye.”

Nehushtai would like to see children speak out against war and discrimination and talk with their parents if they make remarks condoning such actions.

Children, he said, can sense where grown-ups truly stand on these issues and may form similar attitudes, even if the adults do not directly express their views.

Nehushtai hopes that his picture book will convince children that people can sort things out without resorting to violence.

“Dani makes a low, round dining table, hoping the lack of corners will enable people to sit around it, become friends and spend a peaceful time together,” a passage from the book says.