France summons US ambassador over anti-Semitism allegations

Charles Kushner criticised President Emmanuel Macron after Paris announced plan to recognise Palestinian state

US ambassador Charles Kushner has called on France to enforce laws that restrict what he calls hate crimes and criticism of Israel. AP

France summoned the US ambassador on Sunday after he wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging the country had failed to do enough to stem anti-Semitic violence.

Charles Kushner, who is Jewish and whose son is married to US President Donald Trump's daughter, published the open letter in The Wall Street Journal, stirring divisions between France, the US and Israel.

“France has learnt of the allegations made by the United States ambassador, Mr Charles Kushner, who, in a letter to the President of the Republic, expressed his concern about the rise in anti-Semitic acts in France and noted the alleged lack of sufficient action by the French authorities to combat them,” the French Foreign Ministry said.

In the letter, Mr Kushner called on Mr Macron to enforce laws that restrict what he called hate crimes and criticism of Israel, claiming that French recognition of a Palestinian state was fuelling anti-Semitism in France.

“The ambassador's allegations are unacceptable,” the ministry said. Mr Kushner would be due to appear on Monday, it added.

Mr Kushner's letter comes after a similar one sent by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week. In his letter to Mr Macron, which was seen by AFP, Mr Netanyahu said anti-Jewish hatred was on the rise in France. “Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this anti-Semitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement,” he wrote.

Mr Macron has publicly criticised anti-Semitism as antithetical to French values and increased security to protect synagogues and other Jewish centres in response to anti-Semitic incidents.

Mr Macron has become a target of criticism since announcing last month that France would recognise a Palestinian state – a decision set to be formalised at the UN General Assembly in September.

Mr Netanyahu, a firm opponent of a Palestinian state, has alarmed foreign leaders by planning to expand the war despite the already dire conditions in Gaza. Israeli troops have been instructed to capture Gaza city as a first step to retaking control of the Gaza Strip.

The US also rejects the idea of statehood and last month announced sanctions on Palestinian officials in apparent retaliation at the growing momentum behind a state.