France hits back after Netanyahu accuses Macron of fuelling antisemitism

Paris has hit back after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused French President Emmanuel Macron of fuelling antisemitism with his decision to recognise a Palestinian state.

Tensions between the two nations have escalated since Macron announced last month that France intends to formally recognise Palestinian statehood in September at the United Nations General Assembly.

Netanyahu wrote a letter to Macron earlier this week claiming that antisemitism has "surged" in France since that announcement.

"Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire," Netanyahu wrote.

"It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets," he added.

A statement released by Macron's office on Tuesday evening said Netanyahu's accusations were "erroneous, abject, and will not go unanswered".

"Violence against the Jewish community is unacceptable," the statement by Macron's office said. It noted that the French president has systematically asked all his governments since 2017, and even more so since the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas, to "take the strongest possible action against the perpetrators of antisemitic acts".

"[France] protects and will always protect its compatriots of the Jewish faith," it added.

Australia also criticised

France is home to Western Europe's largest Jewish population, with an estimated 500,000 Jews — approximately 1% of the national population.

In recent years, antisemitic incidents have surged in France, with a sharp increase reported in 2023 after 7 October and the ensuing war in Gaza.

These include physical assaults, threats, vandalism, and harassment, prompting alarm among Jewish communities and leaders.

Last week, Israeli airline El Al said its Paris office was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti, calling the act "deeply disturbing". In a separate incident, Macron pledged that no effort will be spared to track down and prosecute unknown attackers who chopped down an olive tree planted in homage to a French Jew murdered in 2006.

Netanyahu's letter to Macron cited the El Al incident and mentioned other recent examples of violence against Jews as well as vandalism of Jewish institutions in France.

"These are not isolated incidents. They are a plague," Netanyahu wrote.

Separately on Tuesday, France's Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad criticised Netanyahu's letter and defended France's record on antisemitism.

"I'm telling you that this is a matter that should not be instrumentalised. France has no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism," Haddad told broadcaster BFM TV.

Macron's pledge to recognise Palestinian statehood last month was followed by similar promises from Britain, Canada and Australia, although their vows came with caveats.

On Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed accusations from Netanyahu claiming that he was a "weak politician who had betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews" by recognising a Palestinian state.

"I treat leaders of other countries with respect. I engage with them in a diplomatic way," Albanese said in response to Netanyahu's criticism, which was also delivered in a letter.