In China, an entire genre of literature ascribes great wealth-making ability to Jews. Here, a few entries in the category, which include titles like "The Legend of Jewish Wealth."
Photo courtesy of Ronen Medzini |
On Feb. 12, director Steven Spielberg made international news when he publicly resigned from his post as artistic advisor to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. "I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual," Spielberg said in a statement. "At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies but doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continues to be committed in Darfur." He was speaking, of course, of the five-year war by Arab militiamen against black villagers in the Darfur region of Sudan. International censure has not yet succeeded in halting the attempted genocide, in which some 300,000 people have already been killed and in which the Sudanese government is taking an active role through their support of the janjaweed militiamen. China is Sudan's largest trading partner. Last year, the People's Republic of China accounted for the largest share of Sudan's total oil exports, making the Chinese government the target of a sustained call from activists to break their longstanding business ties and to pressure Khartoum to stop the killing. Eleven weeks later, on April 30, the day before Yom Hashoah, a group of 168 rabbis issued a statement calling for a boycott of the Beijing Games, based on China's relationship with Sudan and its actions in Tibet, particularly the violent suppression of the riots that took place there in March 2008. "Having endured the bitter experience of abandonment by our presumed allies during the Holocaust, we feel a particular obligation to speak out against injustice and persecution today. We remember all too well that the road to Nazi genocide began in the 1930's, with Hitler's efforts to improve the public image of his evil regime. Nazi Germany sought to attract visitors to the 1936 Olympics in order to distract attention from its persecution of the Jews. Hitler's propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, called the 1936 games 'a victory for the German cause.'We dare not permit today's totalitarian regimes to achieve such victories...Jews should not be party to the whitewashing of such a regime..." As senior fellow of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, a Jerusalem-based think tank founded by the Jewish Agency (and chaired by Ambassador Dennis Ross), I have been a longtime student of Chinese history and events. As the author of the 2004 monograph, "China and the Jewish People - Old Civilizations in a New Era," it is my firm conviction that the approach of Spielberg and the rabbis is the wrong one, not only as it relates to the Olympic Games, but more generally as the latest chapter in a developing narrative of Chinese-Jewish relations. Still, the hubbub over the Olympics provides us with a golden opportunity to examine the nexus of China, the Jewish people and the State of Israel. As China rises to great power status - with its buzzing economy, huge oil imports and rising international clout - what can we say about its relations with the Jewish people and the Jewish state? And what do we know about Chinese attitudes toward Jews in general? Most importantly, do Jewish protests of China policy achieve their intended result? Sino-Jewish RelationsOf course, this isn't the first time that Jews have come into contact with China and its civilization. From the 11th to the 19th centuries there was a small, well-organized Jewish community of partly Persian origin in Kaifeng, the prestigious capital of the Song Dynasty, located in the northeastern Henan province. During its "golden age," between the 15th and 17th centuries, this Jewish community participated fully in China's life. Kaifeng's Jews were craftsmen, merchants, scholars, medical doctors and other professionals; several of them reached senior positions in the emperor's civil service or the Chinese military. Unlike in the Christian and Muslim worlds, antisemitism did not exist in Old China, because there never was any religious basis for it. In the 19th and 20th century, Russian Jews fleeing pogroms found safe haven in Harbin, in northern China, where 10,000 settled (including the grandfather of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert) and established a flourishing community that included synagogues, a yeshiva and even Jewish political parties. Later, during World War II, 25,000 Jewish refugees from Nazidominated Europe found a new home in Shanghai at a time when nearly every border was closed to them. Today, thousands of foreign Jewish businessmen, academics and students - Americans, Israelis, Russians and Europeans - live in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. Today, the Chinese intellectual and political elites, and even the general public, do have some knowledge of Jews and Israel but also harbor some stereotypes, not all of them hostile. For example: Jews are very rich and therefore admired for their moneymaking ability. Alternatively, Jews are sometimes viewed as crafty and accused of dominating a banking system that can be detrimental to Chinese currency. Jews are also viewed as an intelligent people who can be great friends to China. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, for example, is the single most respected living foreigner in China and his annual visits to the country are extensively reported in the Chinese press. Jews are also regarded as a people persecuted by the West, the Holocaust being the ultimate example. In fact, the legacy of the Holocaust is part of the reason the Chinese are skeptical about Western human rights protests. They argue that while Jews were being sheltered in Shanghai during World War II, Western nations had ignored Jewish suffering. At present, the Chinese view Israel as the centerpiece of Sino-Jewish relations. The Jewish state was one of the first non-Communist countries to recognize the People's Republic, in January 1950, three months after Mao Zedong founded the new state. (Chinese policy advisors still mention this to Jewish visitors as a way to express China's gratitude.) However, China established normal diplomatic relations with Israel only in January 1992. In between were periods when China supplied violent, vocal (though only limited material) support to Israel's Arab enemies. However, in the 1980's, Israel secretly provided China with agricultural technologies and even military hardware at a time when both countries faced severe military threats from the same hostile country, the Soviet Union. Since 1992, the links between China and Israel have grown in nearly all sectors except the military one, where the U.S. has scuttled arms deals between the two countries, creating a crisis in Sino-Israeli relations. The U.S. regards China as a political and economic rival. For Israel, though, China is an emerging power that could influence its enemies positively and one day become a friend. For the time being, the main opportunity for Jews and Israel is economic, particularly in China. Today, the economic and technological links between China and Israel are making a significant contribution to Israel's economy. However, probably more decisive in the long term will be China's fast-expanding political, economic and even military presence in the entire Middle East and how this expansion might affect the global geopolitical balance. Israel's strategic alliance with America and its links with American Jews are indispensable for its survival, but Israel also needs to forge the best possible relations with the future great powers of Asia. This is why China has been one of the most serious and enduring sources of foreign policy friction, especially as it relates to military links, between United States and Israel. Criticism in ContextCriticism of China by American Jews must be seen in a broader context of tensions that accompanied Sino-American relations since the birth of the People's Republic in 1949. These tensions began to take a new form approximately 10 years ago when China emerged as a powerhouse of the industrialized world and thus introduced a completely new factor into the Sino- American equation. As China began to account for more and more of the world's industrial production, foreign markets, raw material supplies and currency reserves, the country presented a unique challenge to the United States. In the past, great powers have challenged the U.S. militarily and the U.S. has always risen to defeat them. This was so with England after 1776, with Imperial Germany in World War I, with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in World War II and with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. None of these nations ever challenged America economically. Now China does. It has many of the assets on which America's earlier economic success story was based: hard work, investment in technology and infrastructure, deep international trade links. Neither the American public nor its political elites are sure how to cope with this new challenge, which explains the fear of China that can often be found in the United States. (Some are very concerned about China's military buildup, although it is only a fraction of America's.) The truth is that China fears America even more than America fears China. China has a long history of isolation and it is very aware of current American enmity. China's main security concern today arises from the American military and naval presence close to its borders (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Central Asia, Afghanistan), which could be used as forward bases for a possible American attack. Of course, American support for Taiwan is at the core of all Chinese security concerns. Although the United States has assured China that it will maintain a "One China" policy and not condone a Taiwanese declaration of independence, the Chinese remain insecure. In addition, rightly or wrongly, China suspects America's hand in many of its troubles. Most pointedly, Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is honored and worshipped in America as nowhere else. China's fear of secret American meddling in Tibet, which represents a quarter of China's territory, is perhaps not as irrational as it sounds. Some Western experts have asserted a "systematic and substantial" CIA involvement in Tibet since the 1950's. Therefore, is it surprising that the Chinese prefer to blame foreign meddling rather than police brutality or their own blindness to Tibetan cultural and economic aspirations? Unfortunately, this also means that Chinese human rights policies are partly determined by its security concerns; this in turn means that American condemnations of China's Tibet policies, whether by Jews or non-Jews, are likely to be counterproductive. They might even harm the Tibetans more than help them. In the case of the recent Jewish protest of Chinese policy, it was the rabbis' remarks that most offended the Chinese. Comparing any country to Nazi Germany is grave. There is a consensus among civilized nations that no second Nazi state can emerge, which is exactly why Israel's worst enemies often compare the Jewish state to Nazi Germany: their open or hidden message is that Israel should not exist. Naturally, the Chinese government reacted angrily to the rabbis' boycott call. "The Chinese people and the Jewish people shared similar suffering during World War Two, and China provided refuge for many Jews from Nazi Germany's persecution during that miserable time," Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in a statement. "It's really an offense for the Chinese people as they learn that these rabbis were comparing the Beijing Olympics to the Nazi's Berlin games." In addition, a paper published by one of China's Judaic research Chinese centers suggested that "American Reform Judaism" (leaders of which signed the petition) was a major driver of United States' human rights policy, including its tendency to single out China for "shaming" and reproach. The center additionally published the names of the Jewish organizations that signed the boycott letter. In fact, mainstream Jewish organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, B'nai B'rith International, the National Council of Young Israel, the Orthodox Union, and Agudath Israel of America all rejected the boycott call. For its part, Israel's Olympic committee also assured Chinese officials that the Jewish state had no part in the boycott. 'The Chinese people and the Jewish people shared similar suffering during World War Two...It's really an offense for the Chinese people as they learn that these rabbis were comparing the Beijing Olympics to the Nazi's Berlin games.' Jews and Human RightsReturning to our original question, how should the Jewish community most effectively approach China, both in terms of human rights and future relations? Let's look at three possible approaches to dialogue and accommodation. 1. One approach is to make the Jewish voice heard in a general concert of protests that reflect the majority opinion of a country. Throughout Diaspora history, Jews have been loyal subjects to their adopted countries - though their loyalties have not always been rewarded. American Jewish protests of China's policies probably fall into this category and are motivated by the general American unease about China's rise. In World War I, German rabbis prayed for the defeat of France and French rabbis for the defeat of Germany. American rabbis are surely entitled to emulate this model. But is it wise for them to protest as Jews, in the name of Judaism? And if they do, is it not appropriate to ask whether their protests might have unforeseen negative consequences on other Jews, for example those living in China or in Israel? 2. A second approach has a more principled goal. The rabbis' protest, for example, was motivated by a deep conviction that Jews have a moral duty to fight against all human rights violations, wherever they occur and irrespective of whether Jews are the ones being harmed. Jews have suffered far too long from denial of rights and persecution, the reasoning goes, so they should be the first to protest when they see others suffer. However, the list of countries that offend human rights is long. Why single out one country, China, and ignore others? In June 2008, the Delhi-based Asian Centre for Human Rights asserted that since 2002, approximately 7,500 detainees have died in Indian police custody; that is four per day, many of them under torture. Even the most severe critics of Chinese human rights violations have never suggested anything close to such numbers. But in contrast to China, India is a democratic country where such abuses can be criticized by a free press and public. More importantly, India is a pro-Western country that is not yet seen as a challenge to American power. The point is: no Jewish protests have been raised against India. Nor have any been raised against Muslim or Arab countries that seek contacts or peace with Israel, even if their human rights record is anything but spotless. In other words, American Jewish condemnations of human rights violations are selective, and are colored by other motivations, including the tenor of America's overall relations with that country. American citizens single out China for condemnation because their government, media and business interests feel threatened by the Red Giant. But Israel's strategic position is different, and there are more heinous human rights abuses on which Israelis and Jews should focus their attention. 3. A third approach might be followed by those who follow China's evolution closely, want China to play a positive role in addressing the world's major problems, and want it to move toward greater freedom and respect for human rights (exactly what many Chinese also want). Indeed, China does change, but slowly, both in response to internal pressures and because it wants to be respected in the world. China's human rights record, including those prevailing in Tibet, are today much better than that of 30 years ago. And in another 20 or 30 years, they will be better still. China's youth and its elites are today more open to foreign ideas and influence than at any time since World War II. This openness benefits the Jewish community and, I would argue, is the most effective of our possible approaches to Beijing. Let's look at just one example of this new attitude. A growing number of Chinese intellectuals and others are interested in Judaism, Jewish culture and Israel's achievements. If the Jewish people want to have any long-term influence on China's thought and evolution, it will not be by public criticism but by supporting a Jewish cultural policy in China that responds to Chinese interests. Such a policy could help dispel stereotypes about Jews, explain why social ethics and human rights are so important in the Jewish tradition and demonstrate how they have sustained Jewish influence and success. The Chinese people don't appreciate direct public criticism by foreigners but are excellent at understanding indirect messages. The larger Jewish community and Israel are lagging behind in their efforts to make their language, history and civilization better known to the Chinese. There are various scattered cultural policy efforts by Israel and Jewish organizations and individuals who support Chinese scholars or publications, but not nearly enough. In May 2008, Israel's president, Shimon Peres, chaired a large international conference in Jerusalem to celebrate his country's 60th anniversary. Among the panel discussions was one with the title "How Can the Jewish People Strengthen its Friendship With the Chinese Giant?" Four Chinese scholars gave fascinating presentations. One who is translating Talmudic texts into Chinese spoke of the fate of his first translation, that of the Mishnah's Pirkei Avot, the "Sayings of the Fathers" that appeared in Chinese in 1996 with an introduction by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. Jews have cherished this text because it is a compelling compendium of the ethics and deep humanity of the early rabbis. The first Chinese edition, of 1,500 copies, sold out in no time - as did the second. Unfortunately, Pirkei Avot could not be reprinted because the modest financial support that Chinese editors demand in advance was not available. This small text does not explain how Jews get rich - admittedly still the question that most Chinese want answered. Still, the fact that the text had so much immediate success in China is intriguing. A smart Jewish policy would have been to fund a reprint of 100,000 copies for sale at a minimal price. A young female scholar from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing presented a second revealing example. She is translating modern Hebrew literature into Chinese. She spoke of the tremendous success of her Chinese edition of Amos Oz's "A Tale of Love and Darkness," a document of great humanity. More than 40 Chinese newspapers have reviewed it so far and expressed their admiration for Israeli literature. The book was also chosen as one of China's "10 Best Books" of the year. Oz was invited to speak in China. He is deeply concerned about human rights, including those of Palestinians, Chinese and Tibetans. But he did not use his trip to condemn Chinese actions. Instead, he told Chinese audiences to read his work if they want to understand an Israel "you can hardly see from a newspaper." He further to urged Chinese readers to pick up his memoir if they want to understand Israel's birth and the historical plight of the Jewish people. I believe there is something profound to be learned from Oz. And from Pirkei Avot. "Be cautious in judgment," said the learned rabbis of the Mishnah. (Avot 1:1). "Question the witnesses thoroughly" (Avot 1:9) and "Pass no judgment on your fellow until you have been in his place." (Avot 2:5). Dr. Shalom Salomon Wald is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, in Jerusalem, and the author of "China and the Jewish People: Old Civilizations in a New Era" (2004). © 2008 World Jewish Digest
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