France’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the US ambassador to the nation, Charles Kushner, after he authored a letter accusing the French authorities of a “lack of sufficient action” in confronting antisemitism.
France strongly rejected the “unacceptable” allegations in Kushner’s letter, which the ministry mentioned “fall short of the quality of the transatlantic relationship” between the US and France.
“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,” the ministry mentioned in a press release.
On Monday, Kushner will likely be summoned to the ministry’s headquarters in Paris, the assertion added.
Asked whether or not the Trump administration stood by Kushner’s feedback, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott advised NCS, “Yes, we stand by his comments. Ambassador Kushner is our U.S. government representative in France and is doing a great job advancing our national interests in that role.” NCS has reached out to the White House for remark.
According to a replica of the letter shared with NCS by the US Embassy, Kushner mentioned that he wrote out of “deep concern” for the scenario in France.
“Antisemitism has long scarred French life, but it has exploded since Hamas’s barbaric assault on October 7, 2023,” Kushner, who’s Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law, wrote. “Since then, pro-Hamas extremists and radical activists have waged a campaign of intimidation and violence across Europe.”
The letter, dated for Monday, August 25, was issued to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Kushner, who was confirmed to his submit in May, urged Macron to implement hate crime legal guidelines “without exception” and to take extra efforts to make sure the security of the Jewish group.
“In France, not a day passes without Jews assaulted in the street, synagogues or schools defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses vandalized,” he mentioned.
“Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France,” Kushner wrote in response to France and several other Western nations asserting plans to acknowledge a state of Palestine in September.
He additionally suggested the French president to “abandon steps that give legitimacy to Hamas and its allies,” whereas pointing to US President Donald Trump’s measures within the US.
“President Trump and I have Jewish children and share Jewish grandchildren. I know how he feels about antisemitism, as do all Americans,” he mentioned within the letter, referring to a number of Trump administration strikes, together with imposing “civil rights protections for Jewish students on university campuses,” and overseeing “the deportation of Hamas sympathizers.”
Last week, Israel launched a collection of diplomatic assaults in opposition to a number of of its Western allies as they put together to acknowledge a Palestinian state in September.
This included a strongly worded letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Macron, accusing France of creating a choice that “rewards Hamas terror.”
“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire,” Netanyahu wrote in a letter obtained by NCS.
France says the transfer is meant to revive the two-state answer to the Israeli-Palestinian battle and produce peace to the area, however Israel and the US have slammed the initiative, calling it a reward for Hamas terror that can solely set again efforts for peace.
Macron has mentioned that France’s plans to acknowledge a Palestinian state align with its “historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Australia and France are two of the most recent Western nations to announce plans to acknowledge a state of Palestine. Canada and Portugal have additionally introduced related intentions. Next month, they may be a part of greater than 140 different international locations that already acknowledge Palestinian statehood.
The United Kingdom has conditionally mentioned it’s going to acknowledge a Palestinian state if Israel doesn’t meet standards that features agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
NCS’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
This story has been up to date with further data.