The massacre, abduction, rape, and torture of Jews has not only prompted an eruption of anti-Semitism at American universities, but also in China. Tuvia Gering writes that hatred of Jews has “surged . . . like never before” in the country:

As if on cue, Chinese voices have been working en masse to dehumanize Jews and demonize Israel in the propaganda equivalent of the Three Gorges Dam collapsing, inundating the minds of China with toxic waste. Authoritative Chinese voices set the tone for what is now reverberating throughout the People’s Republic echo chamber.

On [October 10, a] viral post by the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) read, “Jews, who account for 3 percent of the U.S. population, manipulate and control 70 percent of the country’s wealth.” It went on to describe U.S. presidential candidates’ obeisance to Jewish capital in an effort to explain the Biden administration’s unwavering support for Israel.

Chinese public-opinion leaders heard the dog whistle and sprang into action. “Hamas went too soft on Israel,” opined the award-winning online influencer Su Lin soon after. “Isn’t Israel today a Jewish version of the Nazis?” she asked rhetorically.

Racist cartoons, Hitler memes, swastikas, and quotes from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are now ubiquitous in comments sections. The anti-Semitic outburst is best illustrated by Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, which Chinese users review-bombed, causing its score on the video-sharing website BiliBili to drop from over 9 points to a low of 4.1 points. One user commented, “The victims have long since become the perpetrators.”

In the past few days, difficult-to-confirm reports have emerged of unrest in the Gaza Strip, and of civilians throwing stones at Hamas operatives. A recent video from Al Jazeera showed a Gazan declaring that “God will bring Qatar and Turkey to account” for the suffering of Palestinians in the current war. Being an agent of the Qatari government, the journalist turned away, and then pushed the interviewee with his hand to prevent him from getting near the microphone. Yet this brief exchange contributes much to the ongoing debate about Palestinian support for Hamas, and belies the frequent assertion by experts that the Israeli campaign is only “further radicalizing” the population.

For some time, Joseph Braude has worked with a number of journalists and researchers to interview ordinary Gazans under circumstances where they don’t fear reprisals. He notes that the sorts of opinions they share are rarely heard in Western media, let alone on Al Jazeera or Iran-sponsored outlets:

[A] resident of Khan Younis describes how locals in a bakery spontaneously attacked a Hamas member who had come to buy bread. The incident, hardly imaginable before the present war, reflects a widespread feeling of “disgust,” he says, after Gazan aspirations for “a dignified life and to live in peace” were set back by the Hamas atrocities of October 7.

Fears have grown that this misery will needlessly be prolonged by Westerners who strive, in effect, to perpetuate Hamas rule, according to one Gazan woman. Addressing protesters who have taken to the streets to demand a ceasefire on behalf of Palestinians, she calls on them to make a choice: “Either support the Palestinian people or the Hamas regime that oppresses them.” If protesters harbor a humanitarian motive, she asks, “Why don’t we see them demonstrating against Hamas?”

“Hamas is the destruction of the Palestinian people. We’ve had enough. They need to be wiped out—because if they remain, the people will be wiped out.”

You can watch videos of some of the interviews by clicking the link below.