The Chinese state media outlet CGTN removed a video on the US-Israel relationship from Twitter shortly after the Israeli Embassy in China said it was anti-semitic.
In the video, CGTN’s Zheng Junfeng offers a CCP-sponsored explanation of why the United States acts as a “diplomatic shield” for Israel. “China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Friday slammed the US for postponing a UN Security Council meeting on the Palestine-Israel issue that was originally scheduled to open Friday,” said Junfeng. “As of this recording, the worst conflict in years there has killed 10 Israelis and at least 197 Palestinians, including 58 children.”
“Israel’s strike on a media building in Gaza shocked the world and stoked worldwide protests against Israel. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said “any indiscriminate targeting of civilian and media structures violates international law,” but US President Joe Biden says Israel has the right to defend itself,” Junfeng explained.
Studying Chinese state media pic.twitter.com/ZZkCj9iTBQ
— Chairman of Swag Xi Jinping (@Real_Xi_Jinping) May 20, 2021
“So why the US is always so pro-Israel? Why has every US President from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden called Israel America’s closest friend? The official rhetoric is about “shared values.” They say Israelis have looked to the US for political inspiration and diplomatic support. Americans, in return, appreciate Israel for following Western-styled democracy,” said Junfeng. “Well, is it really that simple and pure?”
“Some people believe that US pro-Israel policy is traceable to the influence of wealthy Jews in the US and the Jewish lobby on US foreign policy makers. Indeed, there are over 5 million Jewish people in the US. On the rich list of Forbes, there are 18 Jews in the top 40 in the US,” said Junfeng. “Jews dominate finance, media, and Internet sectors, so do they have powerful lobbies like some say? Possible.”
The video goes on to say that the US has used Israel as “an instrument” to advance its own Middle East geopolitical agenda since the 1960’s after defeating Arab nationalism in the June War, functioning as a US proxy when the “Pentagon was constrained by the US law, as seen when “Israel facilitated the US invasion of Iraq and Syria and bombed Iranian military assets in Syria,” explained Junfeng. The report suggests that the US relationship with Israel is not based on “shared values,” but rather “shared interests.”
After the CGTN report was released, the Israeli Embassy in China put out a tweet accusing the outlet of “blatant anti-Semitism.” The report has since been deleted by CGTN.
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