Antisemitism surges in China, fuelled by new hostility to Israel

Antisemitic narratives have surged across Chinese media and online discourse in recent years, a striking development in a country long viewed as largely free of traditional anti-Jewish hostility.

Research published by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), identifies waves of antisemitic rhetoric appeared across Chinese social media, universities and even official media outlets following the Gaza conflicts of 2021 and the war that began after the October 7 Hamas attack.

The study suggests that what began as harsh criticism of Israel’s military actions has increasingly blurred distinctions between Israel, Jews and Judaism, allowing classic antisemitic tropes to enter mainstream discourse in a country where such ideas were historically marginal.

For decades, China was often described as one of the few major civilisations largely untouched by antisemitism. With only a tiny Jewish population, estimated at just a few thousand people across mainland China and Hong Kong, anti-Jewish hostility never developed as a significant social force. In fact, Chinese public discourse often leaned in the opposite direction. Jews were sometimes portrayed positively, associated with intelligence, wealth and perseverance. Chinese intellectuals occasionally drew parallels between Jewish and Chinese historical endurance as two ancient civilisations.

Earlier surveys appeared to confirm this relatively favourable climate. A 2014 global poll by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that about 20% of Chinese respondents agreed with negative stereotypes about Jews, a relatively low figure compared with many countries.

But according to the new JPPI report, the tone shifted sharply in the early 2020s. Senior JPPI fellow Shalom Wald identified what he described as “antisemitic waves” sweeping through Chinese media ecosystems after the Gaza conflicts of 2021 and again after the war that followed the October 7 attacks.