Israel’s Embassy in China blasted China’s state TV Tuesday for “blatant anti-Semitism” after a state program floated “wealthy Jews” as the reason the United States’ supports its closest ally in the Middle East.
In a Tuesday news broadcast on the China Global Television Network (CGTN), anchor Zheng Junfeng said “some people believe that U.S. pro-Israeli policy is traceable to the influence of wealthy Jews in the U.S. and the Jewish lobby on U.S. foreign policy makers,” The Associated Press reported.
According to AP, “Judaism is not one of China’s officially recognized religions and stereotypes about Jews as shrewd businesspeople and market manipulators are common among the Chinese public.”
“Jews dominate finance and internet sectors,” Zheng went on to say. “So do they have the powerful lobbies some say? Possible.”
“We are appalled to see blatant anti-Semitism expressed in an official Chinese media outlet, we have hoped that the times of the “Jews controlling the world” conspiracy theories were over, unfortunately anti-Semitism has shown its ugly face again,” the embassy fired back in a tweet.
1/5 We are appalled to see blatant anti-Semitism expressed in an official Chinese media outlet, we have hoped that the times of the “Jew’s controlling the world” conspiracy theories were over, unfortunately anti-Semitism has shown its ugly face again.
— 以色列在中国 (@IsraelinChina) May 18, 2021
CCTV, which operates the CGTN, did not comment on the matter, while Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated he was “not aware of the situation,” The Associated Press reported. (RELATED: Rashida Tlaib Says Palestinians Are Experiencing ‘Their January 6’)
China has been a recent backer of the Palestinian cause, according to The Associated Press.
This CGTN broadcast came in the midst of the ongoing violence between Hamas and Israel. Israel continues to strike military targets in Gaza as Hamas sends indiscriminate rockets into civilian areas in Israel.
President Joe Biden has assured Israel of the United States’ “unwavering support.”