XPost: uk.legal, soc.culture.jewish, alt.news-media   
   XPost: alt.politics.democrats, alt.atheism   
   From: void@invalid.noy   
      
   Antisemitic remarks have flooded China’s heavily censored online   
   platforms and the Israeli government's Chinese social media accounts   
   since the Hamas attacks on Israel.   
      
   Scores of online Chinese commentators and netizens quickly rallied for   
   Gaza after the Hamas attacks began Oct. 7, accusing Israel of   
   oppressing Palestinians for decades and saying Israel deserves the   
   bloodshed.   
      
   "In the past, Germany persecuted you. Now, you persecute Palestinians.   
   In this world, do not force others to the corner because you would   
   only be digging your own grave," wrote Ziwu Xiashi, one of the biggest   
   nationalist commentators with 1 million followers on Weibo, China's   
   equivalent of X, formerly Twitter.   
      
   Although the Chinese government has called on both sides to end the   
   hostilities and condemned "all violence and attacks on civilians,"   
   Beijing has long been a friend of the Palestinian cause.   
      
   It recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964 and   
   Palestinian sovereignty in 1988 before establishing full diplomatic   
   relations with the Palestinian Authority in 1989. And, during a state   
   visit to Saudi Arabia in 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping voiced   
   frustration over the "historical injustice" suffered by Palestinians   
   and expressed China's support for the establishment of a Palestinian   
   state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.   
      
   "It is not possible to continue the historical injustice suffered by   
   the Palestinians," the Chinese president said at the opening of the   
   Riyadh-Gulf-Chinese Summit for Cooperation and Development in Saudi   
   Arabia.   
      
   In the wake of the attacks, official Chinese state media has blamed   
   the U.S. for not playing a constructive role in defusing the tension.   
      
   “While the Biden administration warned any group against taking   
   advantage of the #Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if any group stands   
   any chance to exploit the conflict and profit from the violence, it   
   will probably be the #US military-industrial complex,” the Global   
   Times wrote on X.   
      
   But on China’s internet, instead of echoing criticism of the U.S,   
   nationalist commentators and netizens have directed their ire at the   
   Jewish people, which many netizens believe is the Chinese government   
   signaling where it really stands on the conflict. Or as one poster   
   wrote, "Based on how this trending topic was arranged, now I see where   
   our country really stands."   
      
   "Jews always talk about how badly they were treated during World War   
   II and throughout history. But you can't ask why. Otherwise, you are   
   called a racist or that you envy their money," said the username of   
   Rabbit head senior Zhang Tiegen in a Weibo post with over 2,000 likes.   
   "Actually, before the Holocaust during World War II, Jews' reputation   
   was down in the ghetto throughout Europe."   
      
   "Wherever the Jews have gone, they have always been massacred. There's   
   a reason why. You only love Jews when they are not in your area,"   
   wrote online commentator Vincent.   
      
   When asked about the antisemitic comments on Chinese social media, the   
   Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., referred VOA Mandarin to remarks   
   made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman on Wednesday.   
      
   "I'd like to reiterate that to end the cycle of conflict between   
   Palestine and Israel, it is essential to restart the peace talks,   
   implement the two-state solution and seek a comprehensive and proper   
   settlement of the Palestine question through political means at an   
   early date, so that the parties' legitimate concerns can be taken care   
   of," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in the daily briefing.   
      
   Wang Yaqiu, research director for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan at   
   Freedom House, told VOA Mandarin, "We can't blame the Chinese   
   government for all of the antisemitism on the Chinese internet, but   
   the government contributed to it by actively promoting stereotypes and   
   false narratives."   
      
   Carice Witte, founder and executive director of the Sino-Israel Global   
   Network and Academic Leadership, a think tank in Israel, told VOA   
   Mandarin, "It comes from not having access to good information. It is   
   not — I would not say that in China — real antisemitism or a hatred of   
   Israel or the Jews. It is a kind of version of brainwashing that   
   happens when you don't really know really what's going on and you're   
   only fed one side of the story. It's understandable."   
      
   Netizens have also filled the comment section of posts made by the   
   Israeli government on Weibo with criticism and attacks, forcing the   
   account run by the Israeli Embassy in China to close the comment   
   section.   
      
   When Israel's consulate in Guangzhou posted a report of a Chinese   
   Israeli woman being abducted by Hamas militants, netizens accused the   
   consulate of trying to drive a wedge between Chinese and Palestinians   
   citizens.   
      
   "Impressive divisive tactic," one popular comment wrote. "Is that girl   
   even Chinese?"   
      
   Under a different news post about the woman, a comment with over   
   10,000 likes asked, "If she thinks she's Israeli, this has nothing to   
   do with us. Why even post it on China's internet?"   
      
   The comments were at odds with a posting by the Chinese Embassy in   
   Israel, which said, "Noa was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists when   
   attending a peace music festival in southern Israel. She was dragged   
   from Israel to Gaza. She is a daughter, a sister and a friend."   
      
   Many commentators and influential accounts brought up the death of Du   
   Zhaoyu, a Chinese military officer killed in a bombing conducted by   
   the Israeli Air Force in 2006 while on United Nations duty in Lebanon.   
      
   Other comments praised “Little Mustache” as many Chinese people refer   
   to Germany’s Adolf Hitler, who was responsible for the deaths of   
   millions of Jews during World II, according to ThisIsWenhao, the X   
   account identified as that of VOA Mandarin journalist Wenhao Ma, who   
   collects and interprets Weibo posts and reported this piece.   
      
   "It's really the fault of Little Mustache," wrote a netizen. "If he   
   had burned all of them (Jews), we wouldn't have this much trouble."   
      
   Online antisemitism in China didn't appear out of nowhere. For years,   
   there have been conspiracy theories about Jews circulating on China's   
   internet, claiming that the Jews have, through organizations like   
   Freemasonry, secretly controlled the U.S. government and influenced   
   the world.   
      
   A Weibo account run by China's state-owned CCTV claimed the Jewish   
   community dominates U.S. finance and politics and that the issue of   
   Israel has often been a deciding factor in every U.S. election. The   
   post has since been deleted.   
      
   At one point after the Hamas attacks, the hashtag "the 3% Jewish   
   population in the U.S. controls over 70% of American wealth" became   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)