The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas has caused a strong argument on China’s strict social media. This has created a divide between those who believe Israel should defend itself and various voices supporting Palestine. Unfortunately, there has also been an increase in antisemitic opinions.
A lot of people in China have been watching what is happening in the Middle East and sharing their thoughts online since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th. This attack resulted in the death of over 1,400 people and the capture of around 200 civilians and military personnel who are now believed to be held in Gaza.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has caused arguments among people using Weibo. Just like in other countries, the war has created different opinions among users, and posts about it are frequently seen by millions of people on Weibo.
But even though there are a lot of posts that support Israel, more people are starting to criticize the things Israel does. At the same time, there is also an increase in very extreme views that are against Jewish people. China’s online censors, who are very influential, have let these extreme views spread.
Deputy Chief of Mission Yuval Waks, who works at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing, mentioned that people in China have been showing strong disapproval towards Israel and, in many situations, expressing hatred towards Jewish people.
“We are worried that this would create a harmful environment that could seriously endanger both Israelis in China and Jews living in China,” expressed Waks.
Last week, a foreigner stabbed an Israeli diplomat in Beijing. The suspect is a 53-year-old businessman and the police are still trying to figure out why he did it.
Waks expressed gratitude for China’s help in taking care of the hurt diplomat and keeping his coworkers safe. However, he requested that the Chinese government strongly denounce Hamas.
China has criticized actions that hurt innocent people, but it hasn’t specifically blamed Hamas or mentioned the group in its statements, unlike many Western countries.
“We are a little sad to see that a country we have a good relationship with is not strongly condemning the situation,” Waks said. He also mentioned that the government’s stance often influences how people talk online.
While Beijing has tried to stay impartial in official statements, the media in China has shown a more biased perspective, often highlighting Israel’s bombings in Gaza and the resulting destruction.
Recently, the government of China has increased its criticism of Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian area. Their top official, Wang Yi, said Israel is going too far in defending itself and demanded a quick end to the fighting.
The United Nations and other groups that help people in need are asking for the fighting to stop in Gaza. They say the situation is getting worse and may become uncontrollable. Palestinian health officials say over 3,700 people have been killed in Gaza since the fighting began. This number includes over 1,500 children and 1,000 women.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke in Beijing on Wednesday. He said on live TV in China that what is happening in Israel cannot be used as a reason to punish all the Palestinian people together.
On Weibo, a lot of popular nationalist influencers who don’t like the West often post messages against Israel that get shared a lot.
Some people have criticized Israel’s actions in the past and during their current war with Hamas. However, there are also others who have spread hateful comments and anti-Semitic conspiracies.
A famous nationalist page with over 2 million followers has shared funny pictures with Adolf Hitler and some of its followers have admired the former leader of Germany, who caused the deaths of millions of Jewish people during World War II.
Some well-known accounts have criticized the close relationship between Israel and the United States.
This well-known account with 6. 6 million followers claimed that Israel did not support China when the US imposed sanctions on it. The account questioned why China would now support Israel.
Xiao Qiang, a research scientist from the University of California Berkeley’s School of Information, explained that in China, big accounts that support the government usually control the online discussions. These accounts try to get attention by making outrageous claims and competing with each other.
“You do everything possible to get people’s attention. ” “He explained that there is a business motive behind it. ”
Xiao said that not having correct information adds to spreading harmful stereotypes. “There isn’t much understanding when you rely solely on government-provided information. ”
There is a problem with hatred towards Jewish people on the internet in China, and it is also seen in some parts of the country’s official media. Lately, some false ideas have become popular, and even official media sources have mentioned them.
Galia Lavi, who helps run a center in Israel focused on Israel-China policies, said that when hateful messages attacking Jewish people are not addressed by authorities online, it is like silently supporting those messages. She made a comparison to China, which has also not criticized Hamas.
She said that when Chinese officials do not criticize Hamas, it means they are supporting it.
More and more people who study China and Israel have noticed that there is more hate towards Jewish people in China. Some Chinese diplomats seem to have noticed this too. On Sunday, Hua Chunying, an Assistant Foreign Minister, wrote on X, a platform similar to Twitter, that “during World War II, China gave home to 20,000 Jewish people in Shanghai. ”
Many people online are critical of Israel, but not everyone feels the same way. On Weibo, some people have criticized Hamas’ “acts of terrorism” and want it to be defeated, while others have felt sorry for both sides.
“Support Israel,” a user wrote in a recent comment, getting 1,600 likes on a post by the Israeli Embassy. This has increased the Embassy’s daily post count.
The Israeli diplomatic outpost has been using Chinese social media, according to Lavi from the Diane & Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Center in an interview with CNN.
Lavi said that it is expected for the Israeli Embassy to be more busy during these times, as they are trying to inform the world about what has happened.
The Israeli Embassy shared several posts about Noa Argamani, a young Israeli woman who has both Israeli and Chinese heritage. In the videos, she was forcefully separated from her boyfriend by militants during a music festival attack that caused over 260 deaths. Both are now thought to have been kidnapped.
However, although some people had a positive reaction to the post, it also received a lot of negative feedback. A person who strongly supports their own country and has a lot of people following them on social media asked why they should worry about what is happening to Argamani.
The commentator asked if she should ask the Israeli government for help because her whole family is Israeli.
The post got 24,000 likes and was shared over 500 times. Some people said that the Israeli Embassy was using women and children to receive sympathy.
Wendy Zhou, a student doing a PhD in the Chinese internet at Georgia State University, explained that the war has become a big topic of discussion in China online. This is because it allows people to express their political views in a space that is normally controlled tightly by the government.
China does not allow foreign social media platforms and controls or deletes comments that the Chinese Communist Party considers slightly sensitive. Because of this, she said, people who talk about it often say things that “go beyond just the event, mixing in their thoughts about what the Chinese government thinks, what the country’s important goals are, and how the government and society relate to each other. ”
China has been supporting Palestine for a long time, even before it built a strong economic relationship with Israel in recent years. Beijing was one of the first nations to support and acknowledge the Palestinian Authority, and they have consistently supported the Palestinians in voting at the United Nations.
According to Zhou, some of the opinions posted on Weibo can be linked to the widespread dislike of the United States and China’s long-standing backing for the Palestinian cause.
Many comments also mention China’s efforts for peace and make comparisons between the struggles of the Palestinian people and China’s own experiences with colonization in the past.