Zionist opportunism and the anti-Asian hate
I’ve seen a few posts making a strange argument that goes like this:
If criticism of China’s government leads to anti-Asian hate, then criticism of Israeli government leads to anti-Semitism.
The short answer is “No.” That is a false and opportunistic equivalence. Here’s why:
1) The rhetoric deployed against China hasn’t simply been “criticism of the government.” Rather, it has been racially tinged accusations, which further have no factual basis. For example: “The ‘Kung Flu’ virus was unleashed on an unsuspecting world causing widespread death.” Putting aside the obvious slur, in fact, no one knows the origin of the virus. What we know is that China is the country that sounded the alarm bells for all other countries, most of whom ignored the warnings.
2) On the other hand, Palestinian criticism of Israel is grounded in decades of well-documented and ongoing colonial abuses against the indigenous Palestinian society. Palestinians aren’t using religious or ethnic slurs against Jews to make our case to the world.
3) Criticism of Israel comes from the oppressed and from the justice-minded masses. It is anti-colonial and anti-imperial.
4) On the other hand, criticism of China is coming from the top political and economic echelons to sabotage or discredit China’s clear technological and economic advancements. This discourse is hegemonic and imperial, which is the opposite of the pro-Palestinian discourse.
5) Anti-Asian hate stems not only from inherent American racism, but from perceived harm done to white Americans, notions that are fueled by anti-Asian rhetoric coming from the top. Similarly, anti-Jewish hate comes from existing American anti-Semitism and perceived harm done to white Americans, which, unlike anti-Asian hate, are not fueled by politicians, the media, Hollywood, or any other popular mass platforms. It’s quite the opposite when it comes to that. In other words, people who commit crimes against Jews for being Jews aren’t doing so because they’re taking up the Palestinian cause or even care what happens to Palestinians. This particular point is one of the most important distinctions.
6) Israel has a massive lobby in the United States, with satellite offices in nearly every major city in the country. It exerts huge influence on US discourse, which can be clearly seen in the major media outlets that persistently and consistently give the bullhorn to Israel, not their critics. China enjoys no such influence and no such access to shape public discourse.
Bottom line is that criticism of Israel is an anti-colonial, anti-racist discourse based on factual, historic, and forensic evidence. Further, and in general when it comes to anti-colonial discourse, criticism of Israel comes from the bottom up. Anti-China rhetoric is exactly the opposite. It is racially motivated hegemonic discourse based on unsubstantiated or exaggerated claims. It comes from the top down.
There’s simply no comparison and attempts to do so are ill-disguised zionist opportunism to hijack or insert themselves in liberation movements.
Hope this helps anyone facing such arguments making this spurious comparison.
