France has summoned the US ambassador, Charles Kushner, after he wrote a letter to President Emmanuel Macron alleging that Paris had failed to do enough to stem anti-Semitic violence, a French Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson says.
Kushner published the open letter in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, in which he focused on France’s criticism of Israel – which has been accused by leading rights groups of carrying out a genocide in Gaza – and its plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
“Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France,” he wrote. “In today’s world, anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism – plain and simple.”
Paris was quick to respond to the ambassador.
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