France will summon US ambassador Charles Kushner over a letter criticizing the government's response to rising antisemitism. The foreign ministry called the allegations unacceptable, said they violated the duty of diplomats not to interfere in internal affairs, and warned they undermined transatlantic trust. Kushner's letter, dated August 25 and leaked to media, described a dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents since October 7, 2023, citing assaults, vandalism, and defacings. The letter echoed similar criticism from Israel and arrived weeks before France's planned recognition of Palestinian statehood at a UN meeting in September.
"France firmly refutes these latest allegations," said a foreign ministry statement. "The allegations from the ambassador are unacceptable." France was "fully committed" to fighting antisemitism, the ministry added. The foreign ministry statement said 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.
He wrote: "I write out of deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it... "In France, not a day passes without Jews assaulted in the street, synagogues or schools defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses vandalized," he added. While "antisemitism has long scarred French life", the ambassador argued that hatred of Jews "has exploded since Hamas's barbaric assault on October 7th, 2023," which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
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