The crisis between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip that took place while China served as temporary UN Security Council president for May provided Beijing with the opportunity to demonstrate its support for Muslims and point a finger at US bias in its continued support for Israel and failure to ensure Palestinian civilians' human rights.

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In response to a question from Al Jazeera at a press conference on May 14, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said, "China has been actively playing a mediating role … but the US remained alone in obstructing the voice of the Council.

"The US claims to care about the human rights of Muslims. However, as the recent Israel-Palestine clashes swept a large number of Palestinian Muslims into war and sufferings, the US turned a blind eye to their sufferings and even risked universal condemnation to stop the Security Council from speaking up on this. In the meantime, the US, together with a handful of its allies like the UK and Germany, held a meaningless meeting on the so-called Xinjiang-related issues falsely in the name of the UN based on lies and political prejudice. What is the true intention behind this political farce? The US should know that the lives of Palestinian Muslims are equally precious."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's decision to lead a special UN Security Council session on the crisis in Gaza was aimed at emphasizing the importance China attributes to the conflict and its stance on finding a just solution to the Palestinian issue, in contrast with the United States. In a conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi ahead of the meeting, which received widespread coverage by Chinese media outlets, Wang said the main reason for the crisis was the mistaken policies implemented by former US President Donald Trump, which he said ignored the need to promote a two-state solution and as a result led to the ongoing abuse of Palestinian rights.

Meanwhile, ahead of his planned meeting with senior Arab League officials, China's UN envoy Zhang Jun said he understood their concerns regarding the conflict.

In this same manner, despite the importance of understanding the motives of both sides, Beijing made no mention of Israel's stance or rockets fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad at Israel's cities in the draft resolution proposed to the UN Security Council. This was the reason the US vetoed the resolution.

During the Security Council session, China's foreign minister called for both sides to end violence against civilians and agree to an immediate ceasefire. He further called on Israel to show restraint in its use of force. He emphasized "one country" was responsible for the council's failure to consolidate a joint statement on the conflict. He said that as a "true friend of the Palestinian people," Beijing would bolster its efforts to promote negotiations. He also reiterated China's offer for Israeli and Palestinian officials to meet in the Middle Kingdom for direct talks.

Israel has been unwillingly incorporated by the Chinese into their ongoing conflict with the Americans in the hope of presenting Beijing as the responsible and moderate state and diverting media and diplomatic attention from what is transpiring in Xinjiang.

Although senior Chinese officials have visited the Middle East, in particular Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, over the past year, there have been no high-level contacts between Beijing and Jerusalem, the latter of which is seen as a clear and strategic US ally.

In deciding whether to carry on fighting in light of international pressure, Israel must take into account that the US is dealing with China's blow to its role as a global leader. At the same time, China's displays of an ability to fulfill a greater role in the Middle East by inviting both sides to direct talks on its soil require Israel to sharpen the message that diplomatic disregard and the presentation of one side of the equation will keep Jerusalem from viewing it as a fair mediator in the future.

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I would always respond that I was happy and proud to have been born into and raised on Israeli democracy, with the liberty and freedom of expression we are blessed to have. I tried to present the positive: the creativity and the "right to choose." However, sometimes I would start to wonder about our system's bureaucratic failures. I asked myself what we could learn from a functioning bureaucracy without being in any way under the burden of a non-democratic regime.

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When we landed in Israel last week, a representative of the Health Ministry boarded the plane and that because of "the raging corona virus," we would have to fill out an application to enter the country. Unlike China, no one took our temperatures when we entered the country, we were not questioned about our flight route, and there was no record of who had been sitting near us on the plane. Now, quarantined for 14 days, aspects of how China operated during the corona crisis that could help understand how Israel can manage the same problem are thrown into sharp relief.

First, in China, the political leadership in Beijing and the various districts consulted medical experts and acted according to their advice. Professionals and academic experts led the process together.

Second, the Chinese army and security forces were partners and contributed army hospitals and doctors to the battle, but did not take the lead on issues unrelated to security when they would have no advantage to offer.

Third, businesses took action quickly, consulted with medical officials and the government to understand what was needed, and channeled their capabilities into manufacturing necessary equipment, such as online giant Ali Baba, which developed the "traffic light app" that identified corona carriers or those who had been in their vicinity and needed to self-isolate for two weeks. The app quickly became mandatory on Chinese citizens' phones.

The fourth point is that from the start of the crisis, instructions – which were efficiently followed – were issued to allow food factories to work as usual and keep up a steady supply of all foodstuffs to the supermarkets that remained open, thus avoiding panic about a food shortage. The same went for home grocery delivery, which arrived on customers' doorsteps within hours. China already had an infrastructure of fast delivery in place.

The fifth point is that the media and government instructions focused on a single voice and not a mash of different voices and interviews that sought to frighten the public and create unnecessary panic. Domestic outreach, combined with foreign propaganda, were directed by Beijing, approved at the top level, and published in a coordinated manner. The Chinese way is to not leak any information about internal dissent at the top of the ruling party, although we can assume that behind closed doors, there was debate about the proper action to take.

Next, the central government proved capable of moving thousands of professionals (especially to Wuhan), and focusing maximum effort on key areas of the virus outbreak.

Lastly, instructions from law enforcement applied to all sectors of the population, without exception. Everyone observed the shut-down, wore masks, and temperatures were checked at all entrances.

Last week, in conjunction with the Foreign Ministry and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, we initiated a conference call between Chinese experts who had managed the corona crisis and top officials in Israel's Health Ministry, the goal being to learn from China's experience. Israel isn't China, and I'm happy about that, particularly because of our ability as a public to argue and express opinions with transparency.

However, it would be appropriate to understand and adopt a number of bureaucratic and management tactics that could help us overcome the current crisis, and eventually help us fix problems before the next one occurs. 

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