Terming the letter and Charles Kushner’s allegations “unacceptable”, the French foreign ministry said in a statement that the country firmly rejects them.
Charles Kushner, the American ambassador to Paris and US President Donald Trump’s relative, has been summoned by France’s foreign ministry over a letter he wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron, flagging “rising antisemitism”.
Terming the letter and Kushner’s allegations “unacceptable”, the French foreign ministry said in a statement that the country firmly rejects them.
The authorities have “fully mobilised” to combat a rise in antisemitic acts since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, and has deemed the acts “intolerable”, France said.
“They (Kushner’s remarks) 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 French foreign ministry wrote.
While it is reported that Kushner alleged in the letter that France did not do enough to combat antisemitism, the exact contents of the letter were not made available.
Charles Kushner is the father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared, who is married to Ivanka Trump. The diplomat’s summoning to appear at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs is reportedly a formal notice of displeasure.
According to news agency AP, the French foreign ministry said that the diplomat’s remarks violate international law and the obligation not to interfere with the internal affairs of another country.
The latest blowup of Kushner’s letter follows the recent controversy over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s letter to Macron, alleging that antisemitism “surged” in France following the President’s move to recognise Palestine as a state.
“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets,” the Israeli PM’s letter had said.
Responding to the letter, Benjamin Haddad, France’s minister for Europe, had asserted that the country has “no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism”.
Last month, Macron announced willingness to recognise the Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, owing the move to France’s commitment to peace in the Middle East.
