President Emmanuel Macron criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for blatantly fueling anti-Semitism, calling the remarks “an offence to France as a whole.”
In a letter released on Tuesday in several newspapers, the French leader responded to Netanyahu’s criticism of his country’s recent accusations against him as “unacceptable” and warned that the fight against anti-Semitism “must not be weaponized.”
Macron wrote in the letter that inaction in the face of a scourge that “we are fighting with everything in our power” is unacceptable and offences France as a whole.
“Antisemitism must not be a weaponized, and it must not lead to any hostility between France and Israel,” he said.
The French leader pleaded with Netanyahu to end the “murderous and illegal permanent war” in Gaza, saying it was “causing injustice to your country and impoverishing your people.”
Since last week, Netanyahu accused Macron of stoking “the anti-Semitic fire” in France by proposing to grant Palestinian statehood, which has since become a diplomatic tussle.
A letter that claimed anti-Semitism had increased in France since Macron’s recent announcement to recognize Palestine as a state at a UN General Assembly meeting the following month contained the accusation.
The French president’s office responded by labeling the statement as “inaccurate” and “erroneous.”
The French presidency stated last week that “this is a time for seriousness and responsibility, not for conflation and manipulation,” adding that it was unacceptable to use violence against the Jewish population and that France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens.”
After Charles Kushner, the ambassador to France, published an open letter to Macron in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, echoing the claim that France was failing to take sufficient action against anti-Semitism, the row has grown even more enticing.
Source: Aljazeera
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