Macron denounces Netanyahu’s “absent” allegation that he is inciting antisemitism
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “abject” comments have been denounced by French President Emmanuel Macron, who also charges him with fueling the rise in antisemitism.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “abject” and “erroneous” statements, accusing him of inciting antisemitism by promising to recognize a Palestinian state.
Following Macron’s announcement last month that France would recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September—a move that Israel fiercely opposes but that Britain, Canada, and Australia support—diplomatic tensions increased.
“The analysis that France’s decision to recognize the state of Palestine in September explains the rise in antisemitic violence in France is erroneous, abject, and will not go unanswered,” Macron’s office said in a statement issued Tuesday evening, rejecting Netanyahu’s accusations. Instead of generalization and manipulation, the new era demands sincerity and accountability.
In a letter obtained by the Associated Press on Monday, Netanyahu said that since Macron’s statement, antisemitism had “surged” in France. He wrote, “Your demand for a Palestinian state feeds the flames of antisemitism.”
The Israeli leader accused Netanyahu of being a “weak politician who had betrayed Israel” by backing the admission of Palestinian independence, but Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed his comments on Wednesday, demonstrating that the tensions went beyond France.
With an estimated 500,000 Jews, or roughly 1% of the country’s overall population, France is home to the largest Jewish population in Western Europe. Antisemitic incidents have sharply increased in the nation, especially since the Hamas strikes on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the war that followed in Gaza. Jewish communities and leaders are alarmed by these acts, which include physical assaults, threats, harassment, and damage.
In reaffirming his long-standing opposition to antisemitism, Macron’s office said that he has directed successive governments to “take the strongest possible action against the perpetrators of antisemitic acts” since 2017, particularly in the wake of the October 7 assaults.
Israeli airline El Al said last week that anti-Israel graffiti had been vandalized at its Paris office, calling the act “deeply disturbing.” In another instance, Macron promised to see that those responsible for the destruction of an olive tree planted in honor of a French Jew who was killed in 2006 were prosecuted.
