In early November, a letter allegedly written by Osama bin Laden went viral on the social media app TikTok, where American kids were making videos of themselves praising the letter's contents and confessing that it made them rethink their fundamental beliefs. The letter is deeply antisemitic and makes the case for Islamic terrorism against Israel and the West. So vociferous were the accusations against the social media platform for the spread of the letter that TikTok eventually removed all content featuring the video.
Of course, it's not surprising that Osama bin Laden would have gained viral popularity with American teens on TikTok. Tiktok is owned by Bytedance, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and China is committed to the destruction of the United States and its allies—especially Israel.
"The Hamas movement is part of the Palestinian national fabric and China is keen on relations with it," Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian told Hamas during a meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar in March, according to Hamas. It was around this time that a video was widely disseminated on Chinese social media in which a TV presenter bragged that "TikTok has won big for Palestine."
The CCP-Hamas partnership goes both ways. Khaled Meshal, a top Hamas leader, said in early November in an interview on Arabic TV that Hamas "seeks cooperation with the superpowers, China and Russia." He added that China should take inspiration from the Hamas invasion of Israel for their own plans to conquer Taiwan.
What possible interest does Hamas have in a Chinese invasion of Taiwan? The answer is simple: Both Israel and Taiwan are seen as allies and proxies of the United States.
This represents a shift for China. Israel's diplomatic ties with China go back more than three decades, and Prime Minister Netanyahu's 2017 visit to China led to 25 cooperation agreements at an estimated value of $2 billion. At the time, Netanyahu expressed interest in joining China's Belt and Road Initiative and invited China to build infrastructure projects in Israel.
But in December 2023, Israeli companies reported that Chinese suppliers were delaying shipments of necessary materials and vital components, demanding a range of new forms and regulations. And in January 2024, COSCO, China's state-owned shipping giant, announced that it would cease operations in and with Israel.
Then they full on switched sides.
Massive amounts of recently acquired advanced Chinese military equipment and weapons technology were foundin Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces, according to Guermantes Lailari, a Scholar at National Chengchi University in Taiwan and retired U.S. Air Force Officer. Chinese tunnel warfare specialists helped design and build the Hamas tunnels. Lailari also told me that two tunnel engineers from China's People's Liberation Army were discovered by the IDF, meaning that China helped Hamas significantly in its construction of the massive tunnel networks under the Gaza Strip. (The engineers were returned to China after pressure on Israel.)
And at the end of April, the CCP hosted Hamas and Fatah leadership in an effort to bring unity between the Palestinian factions.
Why has the CCP, with extensive trade relations with Israel and a traditionally neutral posture in the Middle East, suddenly turned so sharply against the Jewish state?
In March of 2021, Iran and the CCP signed a 25-year cooperation pact which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called "permanent and strategic." Per the agreement, China will invest in Iranian energy, infrastructure, transport, and seaports. In exchange, Iran will provide a discounted regular supply of its oil.
China and Iran have since intensified the partnership in all these areas. And one of Iran's key strategic goals, the purpose of proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, is the destruction of Israel (the "little Satan"), and eventually the United States (the "great Satan").
And here's where China's goals and Iran's overlap: In May 2019, Xi Xinping declared a "People's War" against the United States. The PLA website explains that "a people's war is a total war, and its strategy and tactics require the overall mobilization of political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, military, and other power resources, the integrated use of multiple forms of struggle and combat methods."
China and Iran have a comprehensive strategic partnership and share the goal of bringing down the United States. This is why China is promoting Iran's geopolitical goals in the Middle East.
It is high time that Israel and the United States recognize the truth: The CCP is an enemy of America—and an enemy of the State of Israel.
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki is host of Eyes On Israel on Real America's Voice network, cohost of the Shoulder to Shoulder podcast, and serves as Executive Director of Israel365action.com.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
