France has summoned US Ambassador Charles Kushner after the diplomat published a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging that France had not done enough to prevent antisemitic violence, Reuters reported.
Kushner, who is Jewish and whose son is married to U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter, published the open letter in the Wall Street Journal.
In the letter, Kushner called on the French president to urgently introduce stricter laws to prevent hate crimes and said France should heed criticism directed at Israel. France’s announcement of recognizing Palestinian statehood has reportedly fueled anti-Semitic incidents. The French Foreign Ministry said it had read Kouchner’s allegations, which accuse the French authorities of inaction. The ministry said the US ambassador’s comments were unacceptable and that Kushner had been summoned to give an explanation on the 25th of August.
Kushner’s letter came after Macron had already received a letter full of criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In it, Netanyahu wrote that
recognizing Palestinian statehood encourages antisemitism.
Macron is currently one of Netanyahu’s harshest critics of the military operation in Gaza, especially attacks on Palestinian civilians. The US president, in turn, supports the Israeli prime minister and his policies.
Kouchner wrote: “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 antisemitism – plain and simple.”
Macron has publicly criticized anti-Semitism as incompatible with French values and increased security measures to protect synagogues and other Jewish centers after a surge in anti-Semitic incidents linked to the Gaza war.
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