France’s foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador after accusations of insufficient countering of anti-Semitism
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the US ambassador Charles Kushner in Paris after his letter to President Emmanuel Macron, in which the American diplomat accused the French authorities of insufficiently countering anti-Semitism.
In Paris, they said that such statements are unacceptable and violate the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the state. The French Foreign Ministry released a statement announcing Kushner’s summons to the department and emphasizing that his accusations are “unacceptable.”
In his letter to Macron, Kushner noted that August 25 is the 81st anniversary of the Allied liberation of Paris, which ended the deportation of Jews from French soil during the Nazi occupation.
“I am writing with deep concern about the sharp rise in anti-Semitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to counter it. In France, not a single day passes without attacks on Jews in the streets, acts of desecration of synagogues or schools, or vandalism of Jewish shops, Kushner said.
He stressed that anti-Semitism has long been a problem in France, but the situation has worsened dramatically since the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. According to him, since then, pro-Khamas extremists and radical activists have been conducting a campaign of intimidation and violence throughout Europe, and attacks on Jews, looting of synagogues and schools, and acts of vandalism against Jewish businesses are recorded daily in France.
Kushner also emphasized that “anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism,” and drew attention to sociological data, according to which “half of French youth have never heard of the Holocaust.” He emphasized that this causes serious concern about the state of the education system.
“Polls show that the majority of French citizens believe that another Holocaust in Europe is quite possible. Almost half of French youth report that they have never heard of the Holocaust, says the American ambassador.
The French Foreign Ministry responded by saying that “France firmly rejects these accusations” and that the French authorities were “fully mobilized” to counter anti-Semitic manifestations after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The ministry emphasized that Kushner’s statements contradict international law, the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs, and also “do not correspond to the level of transatlantic partnership between France and the United States and the trust that should exist between allies”.
