US envoy: Antisemitism long scarred French life Jews live in fear

US Ambassador to France Charles Kushner has said that antisemitism has “long scarred French life” and that many Jews in France now live in fear. 

In an interview with TIME France in late November, Kushner said he wrote a letter to President Emmanuel Macron last July after hearing directly from Jewish communities who, he claimed, feel abandoned by the state.

“People tell me they can no longer openly identify as Jewish because they fear harassment,” Kushner said, describing the situation as “disgusting” and deeply personal, given that he is the son of Holocaust survivors.

The letter, published in The Wall Street Journal, accused French authorities of failing to adequately confront rising antisemitism. Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot responded angrily, arguing that the ambassador had overstepped diplomatic boundaries and lacked sufficient knowledge of French society.

Kushner rejected those criticisms, saying France responds to antisemitic incidents with statements rather than strong law enforcement. He cited what he described as a lack of arrests and serious punishment following attacks or harassment targeting Jews. He also questioned the effectiveness of Holocaust education in France, referencing a poll that suggested nearly half of young adults had never heard of the Holocaust—a figure disputed by other studies and French officials.

By Sabina Mammadli