Roy Ben Tzur

Following the October 7 massacre, China has effectively aligned with Hamas, while its rival Taiwan has clearly sided with Israel. Should Jerusalem now shift its policies toward Beijing on one hand and toward Taipei on the other?

Israeli public opinion on China shows a dynamic and complex picture of relations between the two countries that varies according to local and global political and economic contexts. Support for China among the Israeli public has changed dramatically over recent years. The Israeli Chinese rapprochement that began in 2013 induced most Israelis to adopt a positive attitude towards China. Starting in 2020, and especially after October 7, 2023, support for China has fallen steeply. Israelis’ perception of China is affected by factors such as the policy pursued by Israeli governments, people-to-people ties, the extent and character of media coverage of China, and Israel’s relations with the US and China. At the same time, over the years, Israeli public opinion on China has differed from that of other developed and democratic countries—the decline in support for China in Israel began several years later than in those countries. This article reviews the figures for public opinion in Israel on China. It examines the changes that have occurred, the factors that brought about these changes, and how these changes may be expected to indicate a deterioration in Israel’s future relations with China.