The French government isn’t doing a whole lot of denying, just some basic “not us!”
France summons US Ambassador Kushner over ‘unacceptable’ letter about rising antisemitism
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 did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Sunday evening said it stood by Kushner’s comments, adding: “Ambassador Kushner is our U.S. government representative in France and is doing a great job advancing our national interests in that role.”
The summoning of the ambassador is a formal and public notice of displeasure.
“Unacceptable” is not much of a defense, eh?
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 Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, deeming the acts “intolerable.”
In the letter, released late on Sunday, Kushner writes that “public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence and endanger Jewish life in France.”
Kushner urges Macron “to act decisively: enforce hate-crime laws without exception, ensure the safety of Jewish schools, synagogues and businesses … and abandon steps that give legitimacy to Hamas and its allies.”
“Fully mobilized”
That was in January 2025
France confronts a surging wave of antisemitism
France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, is once again wrestling with a surge in antisemitic sentiment that has alarmed political leaders, Jewish communities and rights groups alike. While antisemitism has long cast a shadow over French society, recent incidents, political decisions and disturbing trends among the youth suggest a deepening crisis that may prove more difficult to contain.
The latest flashpoint came over the weekend when the French government expelled Nour Atallah, a student from Gaza who had arrived on a scholarship to study at Sciences Po Lille. Her visa, granted under a programme overseen by Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and the French Consulate in Jerusalem, was swiftly revoked after posts from her social media accounts were discovered glorifying Adolf Hitler, calling for the execution of Jews and celebrating the October 7 Hamas attacks. The posts, now deleted, triggered a judicial inquiry and led to her deportation to Qatar.
The scandal has ignited intense scrutiny over France’s vetting procedures for Gazan students. Barrot has frozen all student evacuations from Gaza pending an internal investigation. The incident has highlighted a broader unease within France over the intersection of the Israel-Palestine conflict and domestic communal tensions.
This is August. But, hey, good to see they booted one person out. Did it a whole lot quicker than the Jew hating judges in the US have allowed.
Even before Atallah’s expulsion, antisemitic incidents were climbing at an alarming rate. In Paris alone, three synagogues and a Jewish restaurant were recently vandalised with green paint, while the city’s Holocaust memorial was defaced twice, including with anti-Israel graffiti. In Lyon, swastikas and hateful slogans appeared on classroom walls of a primary school that was also set on fire. While the blaze was quickly extinguished, the symbolism was chilling.
The latest wave of hostility is unfolding against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel–Hamas war. According to the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) 2024 Survey of Antisemitism in France, younger generations are increasingly vulnerable to antisemitic ideas, often masked as anti-Zionism. More than a third of French people aged 18 to 24 reportedly believe that attacking Jews is justifiable if they support Israel. Among French Jews under 25, 64 per cent have experienced verbal abuse due to their heritage.
You can see how Kushner was concerned, and recognizing the violent, Jew hating Palestinians as having their own nation would not help. France has the 3rd highest population of Jews in the world, after Israel and the U.S. France seems more upset over the letter than the actual Jew hatred and support for Hamas, which is a designated terrorist organization by France.
Read: France Whines About US Ambassador Accusing Them Of Not Doing Enough About Jew Hatred »
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