PARIS, France — A diplomatic row between the United States and France escalated on Monday when Washington decided to stand firmly behind its ambassador’s criticism of the French response to a rising tide of antisemitism.
US Ambassador Charles Kushner, the father of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was ordered to report to the French foreign ministry on Monday over a letter he penned to President Emmanuel Macron, accusing his government of not doing enough to combat antisemitism.
It was not immediately clear whether the meeting had taken place, but the summoning nonetheless sparked backlash from the US and Israel.
“We stand by his comments,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. “Ambassador Kushner is our US government representative in France and is doing a great job advancing our national interests in that role.”
The controversy erupted amid concerns about an increase in antisemitic acts and hate crimes in France, as international tensions mount over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Kushner, in his letter to Macron, accused France of a “lack of sufficient action.”
France retorted that “the allegations from the ambassador are unacceptable.” The rift deepened on Monday when Kushner was summoned to the ministry and the Trump administration doubled down on his critique.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also criticized France’s decision to summon Kushner, calling the move the “height of hypocrisy.”
Responding to a post from the French embassy in Israel announcing the decision, Sa’ar wrote on X: “Instead of addressing the issue of the rising antisemitism in France in a substantive manner — France preaches against ‘interference in the internal affairs of states.’ The height of hypocrisy!”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks at the Muni Expo 2025 conference in Tel Aviv, on July 15, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Macron came under fire from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, in which the premier issued a written ultimatum to the president demanding he take a firmer stance against antisemitism in France by Rosh Hashanah in late September. Netanyahu also condemned Macron for announcing his government would recognize a Palestinian state that month, saying the move “pours fuel on this antisemitic fire.”
In July, Macron said France would formally recognize a Palestinian state during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September, sparking anger from Israel and the US.
In a letter to Macron that was released to the news media over the weekend, Kushner similarly alleged that such gestures “embolden extremists, fuel violence and endanger Jewish life in France.”
“President Trump and I have Jewish children and share Jewish grandchildren. I know how he feels about antisemitism, as do all Americans,” he wrote. Kushner, whose son Jared is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, was confirmed as France’s ambassador by the Senate in May.
France condemned the ambassador’s letter, but noted: “The rise in antisemitic acts in France since 7 October 2023 is a reality that we deplore and to which the French authorities are responding with total commitment, as these acts are completely unacceptable.”
Antisemitism reaching ‘intolerable levels’
Members of France’s Jewish community have said the number of antisemitic acts surged following Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel’s south on October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, triggering Israel’s military response.
Last week, a group of 150 young Israeli tourists was refused entry to a leisure park in the south of France. Prosecutors said they had placed the manager of the park under investigation on suspicion of discrimination based on ethnic origin or nationality.
In another incident this month, an olive tree planted in memory of Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish man tortured to death in 2006, was felled outside Paris, stirring outrage in France and prompting condemnation from its politicians.
The trunk of the olive tree, presumably cut down with a chainsaw, which was planted in 2011 in front of a memorial to Ilan Halimi, in Epinay-sur-Seine, on the outskirts of Paris, August 15, 2025. (Dimitar DILKOFF/ AFP)
Macron vowed punishment over the act of “antisemitic hatred,” while Prime Minister François Bayrou said that “the never-ending fight against the deadly poison of hatred is our primary duty.”
Between January and June 2025, 646 antisemitic acts were recorded in France, compared to 891 acts in the same period last year, according to figures released by the interior ministry on Monday. However, the 2025 figure is more than double the 304 acts recorded between January and June 2023.
France is home to Western Europe’s largest Jewish population at around half a million people, as well as a significant Muslim community.
On Monday, French Equality Minister Aurore Berge defended the government’s actions regarding antisemitism.
“The French government’s fight against antisemitism is unambiguous,” Berge told broadcaster Europe 1-CNews. “The issue is too serious. In my opinion, it is too important to be used as a diplomatic bargaining chip.”
France’s Delegate Minister for Gender Equality and Fight against Discriminations Aurore Berge takes part in a posthumous award ceremony of the ‘Righteous Among the Nations Medal and Diploma,’ the highest distinction created and issued by the State of Israel, for Jeanne and Jean Philippeau in Vendome, France on June 16, 2025. (Jean-Francois Monier/AFP)
She also acknowledged the rise in antisemitic incidents in the West, saying she believes it has “reached levels that are absolutely intolerable.”
Patrick Klugman, a lawyer for several French victims of the October 7 attacks, said antisemitism in France had reached historic levels, but defended the French government.
“Over the past six years, no antisemitic murder has been committed in France, while sadly several have occurred in the United States. The contrast is striking,” he said on X. “No country is in a position to lecture others, and all must revise their approach.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
