Kushner’s open letter, published Sunday in the Wall Street Journal, noted the U.S. envoy’s “deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it.”
“President Trump and I have Jewish children and share Jewish grandchildren,” Kushner wrote. “I know how he feels about antisemitism.”
Antisemitic incidents have surged in France following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
Asked whether the State Department shared Kushner’s view that France was not doing enough to combat antisemitism, its principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in an emailed statement: “Yes, we stand by his comments. Ambassador Kushner is our U.S. government representative in France and is doing a great job advancing our national interests in that role.”
Pigott did not respond to France’s claim that Kushner’s open letter violated international law.
France said it “firmly refutes” Kushner’s claims, adding that its “authorities are demonstrating total mobilization, as these acts [of antisemitism] are intolerable.”
Kushner’s letter followed France’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state, which is being spearheaded by Macron ahead of next month’s U.N. General Assembly. That sparked a vociferous response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed it was “fueling the antisemitic fire in France.”
This article was updated on Aug. 25, 2025 with a U.S. State Department comment.