U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner was summoned by the French Foreign Ministry Sunday following the publication of a letter in which he accused President Emmanuel Macron of fueling antisemitism in the country.
In the letter, which was published in the Wall Street Journal, Kushner criticized Macron for a “lack of sufficient action” in addressing a sharp rise in antisemitism in the country.
Kushner also accused Macron of fueling hate against Jews in the country through his criticism of Israel, including last month when Macron announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations’ General Assembly in September.
Critics of calls to recognize a Palestinian state have said the move should come through negotiation with Israel, and Macron’s announcement was condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it “rewards terror” and would be a “launchpad to annihilate Israel.”
“Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France. In today’s world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism—plain and simple,” the letter read.
The letter comes just weeks after Kushner’s arrival in France as the American ambassador, a role he was appointed to by President Donald Trump, who is his son’s father-in-law. His confirmation capped a remarkable reversal from convicted felon to high-level diplomat after Trump pardoned him for a 2005 conviction on fraud, tax evasion and witness tampering charges.
In a statement published Sunday, the French Foreign Ministry said it “firmly refutes” Kushner’s allegations and summoned him to its office Monday, a move typically meant to convey official dissatisfaction and is unusual for longtime allies.
“The ambassador’s allegations are unacceptable,” the statement read. “They violate international law, particularly the duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of states, as set out in the 1961 Vienna Convention governing diplomatic relations.”
France, which has the most Jews of any European country, has seen a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, according to both watchdogs and the government’s tally. In 2024, the country saw 1,570 antisemitic acts, accounting for over half of the religion-based hate crimes in the country, according to the French Interior Ministry.
On Monday, the interior ministry said that the number of antisemitic acts had fallen by 27% in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, according to The Guardian.
French officials, including Macron, have decried antisemitic attacks — including vandalism at synagogues — as anathematic to French values.
Kushner, who is the son of Holocaust survivors, has made combatting antisemitism and supporting Israel a focal point of his role. On his first public trip after assuming his ambassadorship, Kushner visited the Holocaust memorial in Paris, and he has also visited other sites of Jewish significance.
In his letter to Macron, Kushner extolled Trump for his efforts fighting antisemitism in the United States, including the enforcement of “civil-rights protections for Jewish students” and the “deportation of Hamas sympathizers.”
Kushner urged Macron to “enforce hate-crime laws without exception; ensure the safety of Jewish schools, synagogues and businesses, prosecute offenders to the fullest extent; and abandon steps that give legitimacy to Hamas and its allies.”
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