On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese Tech giants, including Baidu and Alibaba, have deleted the country of Israel from their online maps of the region.
The report noted that Baidu’s Chinese language maps of the region continue to show the borders of both Israel and the Palestinian territories, and important cities in the areas, however the name of Israel no longer appears on the map.
The Amap of Alibaba has also deleted Israel’s name from its map of the region. The report notes Alibaba’s map is typically known for an attention to detail, and that even minor nations like Luxembourg are clearly labeled.
The companies did not respond to requests for comment from media outlets. The publication said it is unclear when the maps deleted the name of Israel, however it has been being discussed online by users since the attacks by Hamas on Israel earlier this month.
Local reports indicate that over the past month, the Chinese internet has been rife with anti-Semetic remarks and comments, and some speculate those attitudes led the tech giants to delete the name of Israel from the maps. On the Weibo platform, the Israeli Embassy was forced to close its comment section on its official account due to a flurry of abusive posts by users.
The Chinese government’s official position on the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict has been to refuse to take sides, and to call on both sides to end the hostilities, as it has condemned all attacks on civilians.
Experts note however, that China has long had a history of supporting Palestine. In 1964, it officially recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization, and in 1988 it officially recognized Palestinian sovereignty. In 1989 it established full diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority.
In 2022, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the global community’s refusal to recognize Palestine as a country was a historical injustice, adding that China supports the formation of a Palestinian State with its capital in East Jerusalem.
