An 'offense to all of France': Macron responds to Netanyahu on antisemitism

A scathing response, coupled with a warning against "perpetual war": Emmanuel Macron fired back at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that he had "offended all of France" by accusing him of "inaction" in the fight against antisemitism, and "solemnly" called on him to end his "deadly headlong rush" in Gaza.

"These accusations of inaction in the face of a scourge that we are fighting with all our might are unacceptable and offend all of France," Macron wrote, adding that this fight "should not be a subject for exploitation," in a letter to the prime minister made public Tuesday by the daily Le Monde.

Benjamin Netanyahu sparked a new crisis with France by accusing Macron of "fanning the flames of antisemitism" with his intention to recognize the Palestinian state.

In a letter to the head of state dated Aug.17, Netanyahu said he was "concerned by the alarming rise in antisemitism in France and by the lack of decisive action by your government to confront it."

"Since your public statements attacking Israel and signaling the possible recognition of a Palestinian state, it has increased," he claimed.

On Aug. 19, the French presidency had already denounced this accusation as "false" and "abhorrent," and lamented that Macron had learned of it through the media.

The French president noted in his letter that he had waited for his counterpart to read it before making it public. "That is basic courtesy," he said.

"I remain and always will be the guarantor of the imperative necessity of fighting this abomination, everywhere and always," he assured.

"Antisemitic sentiment in our country has deep roots, long fueled by the far right, and is now also being stoked by the far left, which essentializes the Jewish community and supports hatred against it," he pointed out.

'Disgrace and dead end' 

Macron considers that his diplomatic initiative in favor of the recognition of the State of Palestine is "an outstretched hand" to Israel for a "durable peace" in the region, and also rejects any accusation of supporting, through this process, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

"I solemnly call on you to exit the deadly and illegal headlong rush of a permanent war in Gaza that exposes your country to disgrace and your people to a dead end, to stop the illegal and unjustifiable recolonization of the West Bank, and to seize the outstretched hand of international partners willing to work toward a future of peace, security, and prosperity for Israel and the region," he continued.

According to Macron, "the Palestinian state must bring about the end of Hamas."

"Today, that is the only real way to eradicate Hamas and to prevent Israeli youth from being consumed in a perpetual war, devastating for the Palestinians of Gaza, but also for Israel and the whole region," he said.

The U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, father of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, also sent a similar letter to President Macron, which earned him a summons Monday to the French Foreign Ministry.

"Statements vilifying Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state encourage extremists, foment violence and endanger the Jewish population in France," he wrote, echoing Netanyahu's arguments.

A total of 504 antisemitic acts (including 323 attacks on individuals) were recorded between January and May 2025, according to the latest figures from the Interior Ministry. This is a 24 percent decrease year-on-year, but a doubling (+134 percent) compared to the same period in 2013.

The context is particularly sensitive since France is home to the largest Jewish community in Western Europe, with about 500,000 people, alongside a very large Arab-Muslim community highly sensitive to the plight of Gaza's Palestinians.

After showing solidarity with Israel following the unprecedented attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza, Macron has since distanced himself and stepped-up criticism of the Israeli government's strategy in this war.

This article was originally published in French in AFP