Gazan Palestinians, yes, but Black Sudanese and Chinese Uyghurs, no?

Is everyone who protests Israel’s war against Hamas an antisemite? Maybe not, but I argue that they are imbued with not-so-subtle racism. Yes, “progressives” can be racist – without their realizing it.

The question that they need to answer is this: why are you protesting only against Israel’s attack against Hamas, and the death of tens of thousands of Gazan Palestinians, when far worse is happening elsewhere in the world? Indeed, if you’re deeply concerned about “brown” Palestinians, why not also about “black” Sudanese and “yellow” Chinese Uyghurs?

Let’s take Sudan first. Two years ago (a few months before the Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023), a civil war broke out between Sudan’s army and a rebel, paramilitary group called the “Rapid Support Force.” Since then, in a mere two years, approximately 150,000 black Sudanese have been killed, with over 14,000,000 (!) displaced, according to the best estimates available. These numbers are clearly far and away larger than anything occurring in Gaza – but when was the last time you saw “progressives” protesting against this slaughter? Probably never.

Nor is this a strictly local affair (what used to be called a “civil war” – a misnomer, if there ever was one, given how uncivil is the fighting). Several major external actors are heavily involved too: Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, among a few others. These big three support the Sudanese army, whereas Ethiopia, Chad, and the United Arab Emirates are backing the paramilitary guerilla group.

Why, then, aren’t we hearing from any western, progressive groups protesting such mass slaughter? Perhaps they feel that “Africa” is a lost cause in any case with incessant fighting between and inside numerous countries. Or possibly a domestic civil war doesn’t have the same resonance as one between two different national, ethnic, or religious groups. Or maybe – just maybe – most progressives don’t consider blacks that live outside “the west” to be worth caring about. To be sure, no one would admit to this, but given the human rights disaster in the Sudan the lack of protest action by otherwise bleeding hearts does demand from them some rational explanation. Barring that, subconscious racism is as good an explanation as any.

The situation of the Uyghurs in China is somewhat different, but from a human rights perspective (what progressives seem to most care about), what’s happening there is no less egregious. The Communist Chinese government is attempting – and to a great extent succeeding – in eradicating the culture and language of more than 10,000,000 Uyghurs living in northwest China. Since 2017, the authorities have imprisoned more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs while the rest who have not been detained are still subject to deep surveillance, various religious restrictions, and even involuntary labor and forced sterilizations.

A UN report has suggested these Chinese government actions probably constitute crimes against humanity, while the United States has determined that China’s overall Uyghur policy amounts to genocide.

In this case, however, the situation isn’t strictly “non-western”; the Uyghurs are mostly a Muslim group with a Turkish-speaking ethnicity. So where’s the possible subtle racism here? It lies not in the victim but in the persecutors: the Chinese are non-western (“yellow” if one wants to use racist terminology), so from a progressive standpoint, what can we expect from them? Certainly not upholding human rights.

The cognitive dissonance here is huge. Muslim Palestinians deserve support but not Muslim Uyghurs? “Western” Israel is a vile aggressor, but not the “Eastern” Chinese Communists? This is political incoherence of the highest order.

In a twisted sort of way, the continued vilification of Israeli policy vis-à-vis the Palestinians could be considered a backhanded compliment: progressives hold Israel to a “higher standard” than Black African nations or the Chinese. If so, this could be a function of Israel’s own ethos of trying to be a “Light Unto the Nations,” with the world holding Israelis to the value system that the Jewish State espouses.

Nevertheless, there is a large measure of hypocrisy in the almost singular focus on Israel’s actions, ignoring far worse national behavior elsewhere. That’s because progressives should be deciding on whom to protest against based on their own neutral “victimization” criteria, and not based on extraneous considerations such as racial, ethnic, or religious “proximity.”

Of course, not every progressive is an antisemite, and not every liberal protester hates Jews (many are Jewish themselves). However, all of them should ask themselves this tough question: Why is all my bile directed exclusively at the Jewish state?