The French Foreign Ministry summoned the country’s US ambassador, Charles Kushner, after writing a letter to the French government accusing them of “lack of sufficient action” to stand up against anti-Semitism.
France strongly rejected Kushner’s letter’s “unacceptable” allegations. The department said it “does not reach the quality of the transatlantic relations between the US and France.”
“The rise in anti-Semitism practices in France since October 7, 2023 is a reality that we are grieving and the French authorities are fully committed to given the tolerance of these practices,” the ministry said in a statement.
On Monday, Kushner will be summoned to the headquarters of the provincial in Paris, the statement added.
State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott asked if the Trump administration was standing in Kushner’s comments. “Yes, we support his comments. Ambassador Kushner is a representative of the US government in France and does an incredible job of advancing the national interests in that role.” CNN reached out to the White House for comment.
According to a copy of a letter shared with CNN by the US Embassy, Kushner said he wrote it out of “deep concern” over the situation in France.
“Anti-Semitism has long been hurting French life, but it exploded since the wild attack in Hamas on October 7, 2023,” writes Ivanka Trump’s stepfather, Kushner. “Since then, Prohama extremists and radical activists have been campaigning for threats and violence across Europe.”
The letter dated Monday, August 25th was issued to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Confirmed in his post in May, Kushner urged Macron to “without exception” enforce the hate crimes law and make more effort to ensure the safety of the Jewish community.
“In France, there is no day when Jews attacked on the streets, synagogues and schools have not been tainted, or Jewish-owned businesses have not been destroyed,” he said.
“A public statement gestures towards recognizing the brave extremists, fuel violence and the lives of French Jews in Israel and Palestinian states to endanger the lives of French Jews,” Kushner wrote in response to his announcement of plans to acknowledge the Palestinian state in September.
He also advised the French president to “waive any measures that would justify Hamas and its allies,” pointing to President Donald Trump’s actions in the United States.
“President Trump and I have Jewish children and share Jewish grandchildren. Like all Americans, I know how he feels about anti-Semitism,” he said in the letter.
Last week, Israel launched a series of diplomatic attacks in September against some of its Western allies preparing to recognize the Palestinian state.
This included a strong-worded letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Macron, accusing France of making the decision to “reward Hamas terrorist attacks.”
“The Palestinian national call will fuel this anti-Semitic fire,” Netanyahu wrote in a letter obtained by CNN.
France says the move is intended to revive the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bring peace to the region, but Israel and the US call Hamas’ terrifying rewards that retreat only efforts for peace.
Macron says France’s plan to recognize the Palestinian state is consistent with “a historic commitment to just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Australia and France are two of the latest Western countries to announce plans to recognize the Palestinian state. Canada and Portugal have also announced similar intentions. Next month, they will join more than 140 other countries already recognizing the Palestinian state.
The UK has conditionally stated that it will recognize the Palestinian state if Israel fails to meet the criteria that includes agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
