Sa’ar slams France for summoning US envoy over antisemitism criticism

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticizes France’s decision to summon United States Ambassador to France Charles Kushner, after the envoy alleged in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron that the country was not doing enough to fight antisemitism.

Responding to a Hebrew-language post from the French embassy in Israel announcing the decision to summon Kushner, Sa’ar writes on X: “Instead of addressing the issue of the rising antisemitism in France in a substantive manner – France preaches against ‘interference in the internal affairs of states.’ The height of hypocrisy!”

In a letter to Macron that was released to the media over the weekend, Kushner alleged that recognizing a Palestinian state would “embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France,” echoing Israeli rhetoric on the issue.

“President Trump and I have Jewish children and share Jewish grandchildren. I know how he feels about antisemitism, as do all Americans,” he wrote.

Kushner’s son Jared is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka.

France condemned the ambassador’s letter, but noted: “The rise in antisemitic acts in France since 7 October 2023 is a reality that we deplore and to which the French authorities are responding with total commitment, as these acts are completely unacceptable.”

Washington earlier reiterated its support for the ambassador’s stance after Paris summoned him.

Macron last week came under fire in a letter from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which the premier issued an ultimatum to the president to better address antisemitism in France by the Jewish new year in late September, while also condemning him for choosing to recognize a Palestinian state that month, saying the move “pours fuel on this antisemitic fire.”