France demanded the American ambassador Charles Kushner to meet after he sent a letter to President Emmanuel Macron, accusing France of insufficient action against antisemitic violence, as stated by a French foreign ministry official on Sunday.
Kushner, who is of Jewish descent and whose son is married to the daughter of US President Donald Trump, published the open letter in the Wall Street Journal given the rift between France, the US, and Israel.
Kushner’s letter to Macron stated that Monday would mark “the 81st anniversary of the Allied Liberation of Paris, ending the deportation of Jews from French soil” during the Nazi German occupation.
He expressed his concern over the rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of action by the French government to address it.
In the letter, it was emphasized that “no day goes by without Jews being attacked on the streets, synagogues or schools being defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses being vandalized” in France.
Kushner urged Macron to enforce hate-crime laws more strictly and to reduce criticism of Israel, claiming that the French government’s statements regarding the recognition of a Palestinian state had fueled antisemitic incidents in France.
While France has always been affected by antisemitism, the ambassador claimed that hatred for Jews has intensified since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
“France rejects these recent allegations,” stated a foreign ministry, after the contents of the letter were made public.
The ministry condemned the ambassador’s allegations as “unacceptable” and announced that Kushner would be called in on Monday.
The Vienna Convention prohibits ambassadors from interfering in a country’s internal matters, and the foreign ministry will summon Kushner to meet them on Monday.
Kushner’s letter comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also wrote to Macron, criticizing him for supporting the idea of a Palestinian state, as reported in the Jerusalem Post.
Macron stands out as a strong critic of Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza, particularly regarding the causalities among Palestinian civilians, while Trump has strongly supported Netanyahu.
Kushner wrote, “Public statements criticizing Israel and the idea of recognizing a Palestinian state encourage extremists, boost violence, and jeopardize Jewish lives in France. In today’s world, anti-Zionism is simply outright anti-semitism.”
Jared Kushner, the son of Charles Kushner, is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, who converted to Judaism before their 2009 wedding. Their three children are being raised in a Jewish household.
Macron has spoken out against antisemitism as being contrary to French values and has increased security for synagogues and other Jewish centers in response to incidents linked to the Gaza conflict.
France is home to approximately half a million Jews, the largest Jewish community in Western Europe, and has a substantial Muslim community, many of whom are concerned about the situation of Palestinians in Gaza.
Both the Jewish and Muslim communities have reported an increase in hate crimes following Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in the Gaza strip.
Macron’s decision to officially recognize a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September was met with swift criticism from Israel at the time.
With this move, France is set to join a growing list of nations in recognizing Palestine, including at least 147 out of 193 UN member states, as per a recent New York Times report.
AFP provided additional coverage
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/24/france-summons-us-ambassador-antisemitism-allegations
