France has summoned the US Ambassador, Charles Kushner, after he wrote a letter to President Emmanuel Macron alleging that Paris had failed to do enough to stem anti-Semitic violence, a French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson announced.
Kushner published the open letter in The Wall Street Journal, in which he focused on France’s criticism of Israel – which has been accused by leading rights groups of carrying out a genocide in Gaza – and its plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
Kushner said that he wrote out of “deep concern” for the situation in France. He noted in the letter that Antisemitism has “long scarred French life, but it has exploded since Hamas’s barbaric assault on October 7, 2023.” He added that since then, “pro-Hamas extremists and radical activists have waged a campaign of intimidation and violence across Europe.”
Kushner, who was confirmed to his post in May, urged Macron to enforce hate crime laws “without exception” and to take more efforts to ensure the safety of the Jewish community.
“In France, not a day passes without Jews assaulted in the street, synagogues or schools defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses vandalized.
“Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France. In today’s world, anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism – plain and simple.”
Charles Kushner
He also advised the French President to “abandon steps that give legitimacy to Hamas and its allies,” while pointing to US President Donald Trump’s measures in the US.
Referring to several Trump administration moves, including enforcing “civil rights protections for Jewish students on university campuses,” and overseeing “the deportation of Hamas sympathizers,” Kushner said in the letter that he and Trump have Jewish children and share Jewish grandchildren, adding, “I know how he feels about antisemitism, as do all Americans.”
Paris was quick to respond to the Ambassador. “France firmly refutes these latest allegations,” a Foreign Ministry statement said, stressing that the allegations from the Ambassador are “unacceptable.” The ministry added that France is “fully committed” to fighting anti-Semitism.
The Foreign Ministry’s statement also said that Kushner’s comments went “against international law, and in particular the duty not to interfere in internal matters of states” by diplomatic personnel.
“Furthermore, they do not live up to the quality of the transatlantic relationship between France and the United States and the trust that should result between allies.
“The rise in antisemitic acts in France since October 7, 2023, is a reality that we deplore and to which the French authorities are fully committed, given the intolerability of these acts.”
French Foreign Ministry
US Stands By Ambassador’s Statement
The US State Department later replied, saying that it stands by the comments made by Kushner. “Ambassador Kushner is our US government representative in France and is doing a great job advancing our national interests in that role,” US State Department Spokesperson, Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
The envoy’s letter follows a similar statement addressed to Macron by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu last week, which also linked France’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state to anti-Semitism.
Last week, Israel launched a series of diplomatic attacks against several of its Western allies as they prepare to recognize a Palestinian state in September
In recent weeks, France and other Western nations have announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state, while maintaining their trade, diplomatic and security ties to Israel.
Still, the move has angered Israel and its top ally, the US.
Rights advocates say that Israel’s supporters often invoke accusations of anti-Semitism to distract from the country’s abuses against Palestinians and silence the debate around the issue.
READ ALSO: Tetteh Warns Against Mob Justice In Officer’s Murder
