Antisemitism surges in China, major Jewish policy institute warns

A major new report by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) has warned of a sharp rise in antisemitism in China, identifying state-aligned media, universities and social media as key drivers of the trend.

The study, authored by Dr Shalom Wald, a senior fellow at JPPI, describes the development as a significant shift in a country that until recent years was widely viewed as largely free of antisemitism. It concludes that hostility toward Jews is no longer marginal in China, but increasingly visible across official discourse, academic settings and online platforms.

According to the report, antisemitic narratives began intensifying from 2021 and rose sharply following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The study finds that criticism of Israel is frequently presented using classic anti-Jewish stereotypes, including conspiracy theories about Jewish power, Nazi comparisons and references to antisemitic texts historically used in Europe.

A central finding of the report is the consistent blurring of distinctions between Israel, Jews and Judaism in Chinese discourse. Political criticism of Israeli policy is often translated into hostility toward Jews as a collective, drawing on familiar antisemitic imagery and claims. The report notes that while similar trends exist elsewhere, the development is particularly striking in China, given the country’s lack of a significant Jewish population or history of Jewish persecution.

Chinese universities are identified as key areas for the spread of these ideas. The study says some academics have publicly advanced extreme anti-Israel positions that cross into explicit antisemitism, creating an environment in which such views circulate with little challenge. In 2024, China closed its first university branch in Israel, linked to Beijing-based international MBA programmes. Although officials cited practical reasons, the report says the closure sent a broader signal amid a cooling of academic and cultural engagement.

Social media platforms are described as major amplifiers of antisemitic content. Influencers with millions of followers are reported to have shared openly anti-Jewish material with little apparent consequence. One prominent blogger, Lu Kewen, who has around 15 million followers, is cited as quoting directly from Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and promoting racist imagery, encouraging audiences to identify Jews by physical features. Another influencer, Su Lin, is quoted as declaring after 7 October that “Hamas acted too softly”.

The report also documents steps taken by Chinese authorities to remove or downplay elements of Jewish history and memory within the country. In 2024, a non-political musical about Jewish refugees in wartime Shanghai was cancelled in Beijing, despite. China’s long-standing official narrative celebrating Shanghai as a refuge for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. In Harbin, memorial plaques on former Jewish buildings were removed, and the city’s small Jewish museum was closed.

JPPI situates the rise in antisemitism within a broader geopolitical context. It points to China’s growing rivalry with the United States, its closer alignment with Arab and Muslim-majority states, including Iran, and the spread of anti-Western narratives that frame Israel and Jews as extensions of Western power. The report argues that antisemitism is increasingly being used as a political tool rather than treated as a marginal or accidental phenomenon.

Professor Yedidia Stern, President of JPPI, warned that the implications extend well beyond China itself. He said: “When the nation with the second-largest population in the world and one of the principal architects of the global information environment permits the dissemination of antisemitic ideas, fuels them, or tolerates them, its conduct resonates far beyond its borders, and we must view the phenomenon with clear eyes.”

He added: “The diplomatic consequences are practical and immediate. Israel must continue to maintain its invaluable relationship with the United States while preserving room for constructive engagement with China. It must mobilise Jewish communities worldwide and join forces with governments – especially in Europe – that consistently condemn antisemitic speech and actions, and impose penalties for such conduct.

The report warns that if left unchallenged, antisemitic narratives in China risk shaping future political and academic elites and weakening Israel’s standing in Asia.