Israel Studies Comes to China

From the Angry Arab:

"From my Saudi student source in China: 'I had a long and fruitful conversation with Prof. X that might be of interest to you regarding Zionist outreach efforts in China. (You can quote but please delete [his name as] they can really hurt him.) He was quite forthcoming since, he admitted, he was hoping for someone to come [from] outside the Israeli-Zionist circles and ask him what they are doing. He added that despite his affiliation with many Zionist groups here, he is pro-Palestinian. However, they still co-opt his name for their projects (as in the Project3500*) and other groups like SIGNAL.** He added that the Zionists have been active in buying scholars since the salaries of scholars in China is quite low, which also explains why there has been such a flowering of Israel studies programs across China (10 have opened over the last 2 years). Most institutions and universities resisted this initially, especially those staffed by the older generation of scholars but the new generation is cracking across the board. (Beijing University doesn't have one. He resisted opening an Israel studies program since he saw it for what it was but he suspects one will open as soon as he leaves.) A lot of the funding for these programs does not come from the Israeli government but from Zionist groups in the US such as AJC [American Jewish Committee]. An indigenous organization called SIGNAL, headed by a Yale alumni businesswoman*** is also doing a lot of work in China... The rationale behind these programs is to fight the so-called de-legitimisation campaign globally and influence Chinese and Indian elites. Zionist advocacy has another angle - working through Christian channels in China. Apparently, the Israeli Tourism Ministry is inviting the leaders of evangelical Christian communities to visit the Holy Land. Many of them end up being very supportive of Israel." (Israel & Chinese universities, angryarab.blogspot.com, 19/5/13)

Can a Max Brenner outlet be far behind?

[*"History is being rewritten to portray Israel as a colonial State built on the lands of the indigenous people, the Palestinian Arabs. This willful erasing of 3,500 years of Israel's history has not yet infected the 1.3 billion Chinese. Dry Bones Project: educating China about Israel's 3500 year history before 1948 through a series of free, online, digital Chinese-language graphic books written and drawn by Dry Bones cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen. Each work will tie the history of China to the history of Israel, emphasizing the concept of the Jews and the Chinese as two ancient civilizations which have survived centuries of attack by barbarian forces and foreign empires." (drybonesproject.com); **Sino-Israel Global Network & Academic Leadership (SIGNAL): "Enhancing China and Israel's relationship through high-level academic interchange. SIGNAL established the first Israel Studies Programs (ISPs) at universities in China. During 2011-2012, SIGNAL opened ISPs in cooperation with Sichuan International Studies University (SISU) in Chongqing, Henan University in Kaifeng, Shanghai International Studies University (SHISU) in Shanghai and Shihezi University in Shihezi, Xinjiang... SIGNAL sponsored Israel Studies research paper competitions expose an ever growing number of students to the modern Jewish State. For a full semester, under faculty-supervised research, the students focus on a range of topics including Israel's history, society, culture and politics." (en.sino-israel.org) ***Carice Witte]