Contrary to popular belief, antisemitism does exist in China. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, it has exploded on China’s social media and traditional media, spouted by Communist Party media outlets, senior researchers, and diplomats who have bluntly expressed themselves while dehumanizing Jews and demonizing Israel.
This development is of great concern for three main reasons:
1. One in five internet users worldwide is Chinese. Today, they echo, distribute, and initiate antisemitic content from around the world together with bigots, racists, and extremist across the globe.
2. Official sources take an active part in fueling the discourse.
3. China and its representatives in Israel systematically deny the problem and therefore do not address it.
Due to the magnitude of the unprecedented challenge, government entities in Israel and around the world engaged in the fight against antisemitism should join forces and establish a dedicated task force that will deal with:
• Monitoring, researching, reporting, and raising public awareness of the steep increase in antisemitism in China. A clear distinction must be made between hatred of Jews and racism on the one hand and legitimate criticism of Israel on the other.
• Diplomatic activity vis-à-vis Beijing through back channels and through Track II diplomacy, while encouraging a sense of shared responsibility for the fight against racism in all its forms, including racism against Chinese in the diaspora.
• Promoting the teaching of the Holocaust in the Chinese education system, and including the Chinese contribution to the Allies in World War II in Western education.
• Promoting regulation of social media and official media in China to curb the spread of inciting content, and imposing fines on network providers and companies that do not remove antisemitic content, similar to equivalent legislation in Europe.
• Cooperation with civil society organizations, Jewish organizations, and non-governmental organizations that fight antisemitism in order to expand their scope of work to China (and other central Asian countries). They can help by promoting legislation, media campaigns, public reports, and education in their respective countries.
• Allocating funding for programs to develop interpersonal relationships and tolerance, focusing on delegations of Chinese researchers, journalists, editors, and public opinion shapers in trips to Israel and to concentration camps in Europe.
Contrary to popular belief, antisemitism does exist in China. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, it has exploded on China’s social media and traditional media, spouted by Communist Party media outlets, senior researchers, and diplomats who have bluntly expressed themselves while dehumanizing Jews and demonizing Israel.
This development is of great concern for three main reasons:
1. One in five internet users worldwide is Chinese. Today, they echo, distribute, and initiate antisemitic content from around the world together with bigots, racists, and extremist across the globe.
2. Official sources take an active part in fueling the discourse.
3. China and its representatives in Israel systematically deny the problem and therefore do not address it.
Due to the magnitude of the unprecedented challenge, government entities in Israel and around the world engaged in the fight against antisemitism should join forces and establish a dedicated task force that will deal with:
• Monitoring, researching, reporting, and raising public awareness of the steep increase in antisemitism in China. A clear distinction must be made between hatred of Jews and racism on the one hand and legitimate criticism of Israel on the other.
• Diplomatic activity vis-à-vis Beijing through back channels and through Track II diplomacy, while encouraging a sense of shared responsibility for the fight against racism in all its forms, including racism against Chinese in the diaspora.
• Promoting the teaching of the Holocaust in the Chinese education system, and including the Chinese contribution to the Allies in World War II in Western education.
• Promoting regulation of social media and official media in China to curb the spread of inciting content, and imposing fines on network providers and companies that do not remove antisemitic content, similar to equivalent legislation in Europe.
• Cooperation with civil society organizations, Jewish organizations, and non-governmental organizations that fight antisemitism in order to expand their scope of work to China (and other central Asian countries). They can help by promoting legislation, media campaigns, public reports, and education in their respective countries.
• Allocating funding for programs to develop interpersonal relationships and tolerance, focusing on delegations of Chinese researchers, journalists, editors, and public opinion shapers in trips to Israel and to concentration camps in Europe.