France has summoned the American ambassador to Paris after the diplomat, Charles Kushner, wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging the country did not do enough to combat antisemitism.
France’s foreign ministry issued a statement Sunday announcing it had summoned Kushner to appear Monday at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and that his allegations “are unacceptable.”
The White House and US State Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The summoning of the ambassador is a formal and public notice of displeasure.
Kushner, a real-estate developer, is the father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The French foreign ministry, in its statement, said “France firmly rejects these allegations” from Kushner and that French authorities have “fully mobilized” to combat a rise in antisemitic acts since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, deeming the acts “intolerable.”
Kushner’s letter to Macron noted that Monday was “the 81st anniversary of the Allied Liberation of Paris, which ended the deportation of Jews from French soil” under Nazi German occupation.
A city employee cleaning the “Wall of the Righteous” (Mur des Justes) after the monument was vandalized in Paris, May 14, 2024. (Antonin Utz/AFP)
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 7, 2023,” which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
The French foreign ministry claimed Kushner’s allegations violated international law and the obligation not to interfere with the internal affairs of another country, and, “They also fall short of the quality of the transatlantic partnership between France and the United States and of the trust that must prevail between allies.”
The dustup follows Macron’s rejection this past week of accusations from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that France’s intention to recognize a Palestinian state is fueling antisemitism.
Macron’s Elysee office was quick to hit back at Netanyahu, calling the Israeli premier’s allegation “abject” and “erroneous.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron (L), as they hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem on October 24, 2023. (Christophe Ena/Pool/AFP)
But like Netanyahu, Kushner denounced Macron’s criticisms of Israel over the war in Gaza and his planned recognition of a State of Palestine. Such moves, he said, “embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France.”
“In today’s world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism — plain and simple,” the ambassador added.
“Surveys show most French citizens believe another Holocaust could happen in Europe. Nearly half of French youth report never having heard of the Holocaust at all.
“What are children being taught in French schools if such ignorance persists?” the letter read.
A terror suspect (left) caught on a surveillance camera outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the French seaside resort of La Grande Motte; flames outside the synagogue (right) on August 24, 2024. (X screenshots, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
France is home to the largest Jewish population in Western Europe, with an estimated 500,000 Jews. That’s approximately 1% of the national population.
The diplomatic discord over Kushner’s letter came as French-US relations have faced tensions this year amid Trump’s trade war and a split over the future of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. France in particular has objected to the US push to wind down the peacekeeping operation known as UNIFIL, with a vote on the issue set for the end of the month by the UN Security Council.
France and the US have also been divided on support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, but the split has eased with Trump expressing support for security guarantees and a warm meeting with Macron and other European leaders at the White House last week.
Trump at the end of his first term as president pardoned Charles Kushner, who pleaded guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.
His son Jared is a former White House senior adviser to Trump who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.
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