![Israel is not present on online maps in China](https://images.prismic.io/vfi-news/e502f29f-5bc2-47a6-aaa3-294366590a18_7.jpg?auto=compress,format&rect=0,0,1200,666&w=1200&h=666)
Israel Omitted from Online Maps in China Amid War with Hamas in Gaza
People in China are calling attention to the fact that the state of Israel is not present on online maps in China, a concerning development given China's historical obsession with map boundaries.
While it is unclear when Chinese companies like Baidu and Alibaba removed references to Israel, Chinese internet users began discussing the absence after Hamas' October 7 massacre.
Searching for “Israel” on Baidu's map portal prompts it to zoom in on the correct region, but Israel's name is absent from the map despite cities like Jerusalem being correctly marked. Israel's neighbors like Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt also appear and are named accurately on the maps.
China's strong relationship with Iran may be a reason for Israel's absence from the map. China remains Iran's largest trading partner, and Iran is the prime source of funding for both Hamas and Hezbollah, the terror groups devoted to the destruction of Israel.
After the war began between Israel and Hamas, the Iranian regime has also threatened the Jewish communities in the country, a UK-based Persian language news outlet reported on Wednesday, November 1. Jews of Iranian origin in Israel are reporting that their relatives in Iran have left family WhatsApp groups and are even blocking the numbers of all their Israeli contacts.
The report adds that the local Jewish community organized pro-Gaza demonstrations in Teheran and Esfahan. The demonstrations were held under the headline: “Judaism has no connection with Zionism.” The demonstrators even waved banners in Hebrew condemning “Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people.” (FN / VFI News)