Paris summons US ambassador after he rebuked France for failing to fight ‘anti-Semitism’
France has summoned US Ambassador Charles Kushner after he sent a letter to President Emmanuel Macron criticizing Paris for failing to do enough to stem “anti-Semitic” violence, a French Foreign Ministry spokesperson says.
Kushner, who is an ally of US President Donald Trump and father of his son-in-law Jared, published the open letter in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
In the letter, he focused on France’s criticism of Israel and its plan to recognize a Palestinian state.
He claimed that “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,” Kushner wrote.
France responded quickly by summoning the US envoy on the same day.
“France firmly refutes these latest allegations,” a Foreign Ministry statement said. “The allegations from the ambassador are unacceptable.”
France is “fully committed” to fighting anti-Semitism, the ministry added.
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,” it added.
The US State Department later replied, saying 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.
Kushner’s open letter to Macron follows a similar one sent to the French president by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, in which the Zionist leader accused Paris of contributing to anti-Semitism by calling for the international recognition of the State of Palestine.
France’s announcement that it would formally recognize a Palestinian state during the upcoming UN General Assembly aligns with recognition pledges from nations such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom in recent weeks.
By officially recognizing the State of Palestine, France is set to join a list of nations that have grown since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza, where over 62,600 Palestinians have been killed over the past 22 months.
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