Israeli embassy in China blasts state TV broadcaster for ‘blatant antisemitism’

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The Israeli embassy in Beijing accused China’s state TV broadcaster of “blatant antisemitism” after a presenter promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories while reporting on the U.S. government’s support for Israel.

CCTV Headquarters famous skyscraper in the Central Business District of Beijing. Credit: Fotokon/Shutterstock.

A presenter on China Global Television Network (CGTN), the English-language arm of the Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television, said during a Tuesday broadcast that “powerful lobbies” of Jews and the “influence of wealthy Jews” in the United States were responsible for America’s pro-Israel position concerning the ongoing violence in the Middle East, AFP reported. The presenter also claimed that “Jews dominate the finance, media and Internet sectors” in the United States.

In a series of Twitter posts on Tuesday, the Israeli embassy expressed outrage over the allegations, saying it was “appalled to see blatant antisemitism expressed in an official Chinese media outlet.”

Embassy officials said “we have hoped that the times of the ‘Jews controlling the world’ conspiracy theories were over. Unfortunately, antisemitism has shown its ugly face again.”

“The claims expressed in the video are racist and dangerous, and should be avoided by any media outlet that respects itself,” the embassy continued. “Countries that support Israel, including the U.S., do so because they also believe that Israel has the right to protect itself, as does any other country in the world. Not as a part of an antisemitic ploy as expressed in this video.

“We are disappointed to see these types of messages and urge CGTN to take down this insulting video that spreads lies and racism. We believe that anybody expressing such ideas should be ashamed to do so.”

JNS