In first move as U.S. ambassador, Charles Kushner accuses President Macron of failing to protect French Jews
Kushner warned that Macron’s criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian statehood ‘fuel violence and endanger Jewish life in France’
Charles Kushner, the U.S. ambassador to France (left), and French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images; Buda Mendes/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh August 24, 2025
U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner accused the French government of failing to respond adequately to rising antisemitism in a public letter he sent to President Emmanuel Macron and publicized on Sunday.
Kushner painted a stark picture of Jewish life in France, warning that “many French Jews fear that history will repeat itself in Europe.” He noted surveys showing that most French citizens believe another Holocaust could happen, and that nearly half of French youth lack even basic knowledge of the Holocaust. “What are children being taught in French schools if such ignorance persists?” he asked.
“Antisemitism has long scarred French life, but it has exploded since Hamas’ barbaric assault on Oct. 7, 2023,” Kushner wrote in the letter, published in the Wall Street Journal. “Not a day passes without Jews assaulted in the street, synagogues or schools defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses vandalized.”
The French foreign ministry summoned Kushner after the letter was made public. “The Ambassador’s allegations are unacceptable,” it said in a statement.
Kushner also echoed the Israeli government’s rebuke of Macron for leading an initiative to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at next month’s United Nations General Assembly. The Trump administration opposes the move, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it rewards Hamas. Macron’s public criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza combined with support for Palestinian statehood, Kushner warned, “fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France.”
The French newspaper Le Monde noted that this letter is Kushner’s first public statement since assuming the role last month.
In the letter, Kushner highlighted President Donald Trump’s efforts to counter antisemitism, noting that they both “share Jewish grandchildren” — the three kids of his son Jared and daughter-in-law, Ivanka Trump. He cited the administration’s measures aimed at expanding protections for Jewish students on U.S. campuses, the crackdown on foreign students and visa holders, increased funding for security at Jewish institutions, and the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. These policies, he said, proved that “antisemitism can be fought effectively when leaders have the will to act.”
Democrats have criticized Trump’s recent actions to combat antisemitism, some suggesting that they have made campuses less safe for Jewish students. Others have highlighted a litany of Trump administration officials with ties to antisemitic rhetoric.
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