PARIS: The US ambassador to Paris has upped the pressure on President Emmanuel Macron over antisemitism in France with a letter calling the government’s action on anti-Jewish hatred insufficient, days after similar criticism from Israel.
US envoy Charles Kushner’s letter to Macron was dated August 25, which he noted was “the 81st anniversary of the Allied Liberation of Paris, which ended the deportation of Jews from French soil” under Nazi German occupation.
In the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by AFP, he wrote: “I write out of deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it...
“In France, not a day passes without Jews assaulted in the street, synagogues or schools defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses vandalized,” he added.
While “antisemitism has long scarred French life,” the ambassador argued that hatred of Jews “has exploded since Hamas’s barbaric assault on October 7, 2023,” which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
His remarks tally with those made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Tuesday accused Macron of fomenting antisemitism, saying it had “surged” in France following the French president’s announcement last month that he will recognize Palestinian statehood.
Macron’s Elysee office was quick to hit back at Netanyahu, calling the Israeli leader’s allegation “abject” and “erroneous.”
But like Netanyahu, Kushner denounced Macron’s criticisms of Israel over the war in Gaza and his planned recognition of a State of Palestine. Such moves, he said, “embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France.”
“In today’s world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism — plain and simple,” the ambassador added.
“Surveys show most French citizens believe another Holocaust could happen in Europe. Nearly half of French youth report never having heard of the Holocaust at all.
“What are children being taught in French schools if such ignorance persists?,” the letter read.
France is home to Western Europe’s largest Jewish population at around half a million people, as well as a significant Muslim community sensitive to the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Both communities have reported a spike in hate crimes since Israel’s retaliatory offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the besieged coastal strip.
Macron’s announcement that France would formally recognize a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September drew a swift rebuke from Israel at the time.
With the move, France is set to join a list of nations that has grown since the start of the Gaza war nearly two years ago.
France is among at least 145 of the 193 UN members that now recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, according to an AFP tally.

WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance said Russia has made “significant concessions” toward a negotiated settlement in its war with Ukraine and was confident progress was being made despite the lack of clear signs the conflict is nearing an end.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker,” Vance said Russian President Vladimir Putin has made several concessions, including that Ukraine will receive security guarantees protecting against future Russian aggression.
“I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict,” Vance said in comments aired on Sunday.
“They’ve recognized that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, started a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people. In return for ending Russia’s attacks, Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up all of the eastern Donbas region, renounce ambitions to join NATO, remain neutral and keep Western troops out of the country, sources told Reuters last week.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that a group of nations including United Nations Security Council members should be the guarantors of Ukraine’s security.
On Friday President Donald Trump renewed a threat to impose sanctions on Russia if there was no progress toward a peaceful settlement in Ukraine in two weeks, showing frustration at Moscow a week after his meeting with Putin in Alaska.
Vance said sanctions would be considered on a case-by-case basis, acknowledging that new penalties were unlikely to prompt Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.
Vance pointed to Trump’s announcement this month of an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods as a punishment for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil as the kind of economic leverage that would be used in pursuit of peace.
“He’s tried to make it clear that Russia can be re-invited into the world economy if they stop the killing, but they’re going to continue to be isolated if they don’t stop the killing,” Vance said.