T. Belman. Only 43 countries, mostly western, signed. Israel chose to not alienate China at the risk of alienating other countries. We know that Iran is not complaining. What about Saudi Arabia?
AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/22/43-countries-criticize-china-at-un-for-repression-of-uyghurs
Foreign Ministry says it has expressed human rights concerns regarding Xinjiang in past; Israeli diplomatic official says Jerusalem needs to balance various interests
26 October 2021, 12:19 am
In an effort to placate China, Israel refrained from signing on to a joint statement at the United Nations last week that expressed concern over Beijing’s treatment of its Muslim Uighur minority, an Israeli diplomatic official told The Times of Israel on Sunday.
Forty-three countries signed on to the French-led statement, which called on China to “ensure full respect for the rule of law” in the Xinjiang region where “credible” reports “indicate the existence of a large network of ‘political reeducation’ camps [with] over a million people [who] have been arbitrarily detained.”
Among the signatories were Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Poland, Turkey, the UK and the US.
The Israeli mission received a draft of the statement beforehand, but decided against supporting the initiative, a European diplomat confirmed.
Asked for comment on the matter, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “Israel expresses its concerns about the Uighurs in various diplomatic tracks. One example of this was our signing onto the Canadian statement [on the Uighurs] in June at the Human Rights Council. Our position on the issue has not changed.”
Elaborating on the decision-making process on condition of anonymity, an Israeli diplomatic official said that Jerusalem has “other interests that it has to balance” in addition to its concern over human rights in Xinjiang.
According to a Western diplomat, China is increasing pressure every year to dissuade UN members from signing such declarations, with moves like threatening not to renew a peace mission in a given country or preventing others from building a new embassy in China.
China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun denounced last Thursday’s joint statement as “lies” and “a plot to hurt China.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the UN did not respond to a query as to whether it had been in touch with Israeli counterparts regarding the joint statement.
Israel signed onto a nearly identical declaration against China in June following “encouragement” from the Biden administration, an Israeli official said, while clarifying that Jerusalem supported the measure regardless.
But the government has also pushed back on some US efforts to lure it away from expanding economic ties with China, which has also been among Israel’s fiercest critics at the UN over its treatment of the Palestinians.
A senior diplomatic official briefing reporters after Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s visit to Washington earlier this month said that: “China’s importance to the Israeli economy is very significant, and we need to find a way to talk about this issue in a way that does not harm Israel’s interests.”
Ahead of Lapid’s visit, a senior US State Department official told reporters that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would hold a “candid” conversation with his Israeli counterpart “over risks to our shared national security interests that come with close cooperation with China.”
Earlier this month, an Israeli official told ToI that Jerusalem is willing to modify its relationship with China, and has not shied away from criticizing Beijing’s human rights record in international forums. However, Israel, along with other allies, has been put off by US requests to reject tenders from certain Chinese companies when those same firms are operating on American soil.
Amid a US-China trade war that has ebbed and flowed in recent years under both the Trump and Biden administrations, Israel and China have seen warming relations and more interest in Israeli innovations, especially in medical tech, robotics, food tech, and artificial intelligence.
Washington’s main concerns lie in potential dual-usage technologies, where various technologies would have both civilian and military applications. At the same time, Israel has regulations in place to prevent the sale of sensitive military-related technology to China (and other countries), following a 1990s deal in which Israel had to scrap the sale of advanced airborne radar systems to China amid fierce US opposition.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-725614
“No one can understand the Uyghurs better than the Jews
The world, he said, is waking up to China’s abuses, but it has not been an easy process.
“Just a few years ago, people were skeptical when we mentioned what was happening. But why would I lie that my dad is in a concentration camp? Why would I lie about genocide? People automatically suspect that something is wrong with you.”
One notable exception, he said, was the Jewish community. “When we spoke to the Jewish community, nobody was trying to prove we were lying or exaggerating, but said, what can we do?
“One of the reasons we are in Israel is because I believe that no one can understand us better than the Jewish people,” he said.
Since most Muslim countries have close business ties with China, they have not been supportive and even disputed widespread persecution claims of the Uyghur. Altay took to Twitter earlier this month to criticize Saudi Arabia when Xi was given an honorary degree during a visit there.
“I am Muslim, and I am having a hard time explaining the situation to the Muslim people – imagine that,” he said. “Any Jewish person I talk to, when we mention the concentration camps and what is going on – that they took our elites first, our academicians, our scientists, and then the second layer – when we describe this, immediately you see recognition and compassion. I feel that automatically nobody can understand us better than you.
“Even though you went through the Holocaust, you have a successful nation that is advancing, that is advancing technology, advancing democracy and the rule of law, and becoming an example for the world. Our land in East Turkestan is three times bigger than Turkey, and I believe we are 20 million people. When we look at the few million people here, it is like, how can we learn from this nation that was able to get through this Holocaust and rebuild itself? I think this is something that the Uyghurs need to look up to and learn from.”’
P Dale 5, your remarks concerning “China” are cogent; and the leaders of Israel should take them to heart.
By “China”, I assume you mean Xi Jinping, and his inner circle of greedy, megamoniacal psychopaths. He wears Chinese skin and Marxist garments; but at heart, he is simply hitler.x. He cannot be trusted in anything.
China won’t be placated; it will exhibit its contempt in its dealings with Israel. As soon as it has, by fair means or foul, obtained the technological information it wants, it will discard Israel. The Chinese government has specific goals in mind: to wit, to dominate the world and it will not change any part of its intent. As many African countries have found out, to their dismay, the support of China comes at a heavy cost. It will be the same for Israel. Israel’s decision to ‘placate’ the Chinese reminds one of a certain Neville Chamberlain stepping off plane on Croydon field, waiving a piece of paper, proudly announcing ‘peace in our time’. That worked out well, didn’t it?