France Summons U.S. Ambassador Over "Unacceptable" Letter on Rising Antisemitism

The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday that it had summoned Ambassador Kouchner to appear before the Ministry on Monday, stating that his accusations "are unacceptable."

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott stated on Sunday evening that it stood by Kushner's remarks, adding, "Ambassador Kushner is our representative of the U.S. government in France and is doing an excellent job promoting our national interests in that role."

Summoning an ambassador is a formal and public expression of dissatisfaction.

Kushner is the father of President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

In its statement, the French Foreign Ministry asserted that "France rejects the accusations" made by Kushner and that French authorities are "fully mobilized" to combat the rise in antisemitic acts since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, calling these acts "intolerable."

In the letter published on Sunday evening, Kushner wrote that "public statements that rebuke Israel and gestures toward the recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, incite violence, and endanger Jewish life in France."

Kushner called on Macron to "act decisively, apply the laws against hate crimes without exception, guarantee the protection of Jewish schools, synagogues, and businesses, and abandon measures that give legitimacy to Hamas and its allies."

Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

The French ministry stated that Kushner's accusations violate international law and the obligation not to interfere in the internal affairs of another country.

"They also contradict the quality of the transatlantic partnership between France and the United States and the trust that must prevail between allies," it emphasized.

The confrontation comes after Macron rejected claims last week from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that France's decision to recognize a Palestinian state was fueling antisemitism.

France is the country with the largest Jewish population in Europe, with approximately 500,000 Jews, representing the third-largest Jewish population in the world after Israel and the United States.

It constitutes approximately 1 percent of the national population.

France and the United States have also been divided on the issue of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, but the division has eased after Trump expressed his support for security assurances and held a friendly meeting with Macron and other European leaders at the White House last week.

At the end of his first term as president, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, who years earlier had been convicted of tax evasion and illegal campaign donations.

His son, Jared, is a former senior White House advisor during Trump's first term and is married to Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka.