“We don't need lessons on anti-Semitism," France says after Netanyahu's letter

France pushed back against 'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusations, insisting it has “no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism.”

The statement came from France’s Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Benjamin Haddad, on Tuesday after Netanyahu criticized French President Emmanuel Macron, claiming that France’s planned recognition of a Palestinian state was fueling anti-Semitism.

“I would like to say very clearly and very firmly that this issue of anti-Semitism, which is poisoning our European societies… cannot be exploited,” Haddad said in an interview with broadcaster BFMTV.

The Élysée Palace also condemned Netanyahu’s comments, describing the claim that linking Palestinian state recognition to antisemitism is “abject” and “erroneous.”

The response followed a letter sent by Netanyahu to President Emmanuel Macron, in which the 'Israeli' leader accused France’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state of fueling anti-Semitism. In his message, Netanyahu charged that Macron’s stance would embolden extremists and endanger French Jews.

Read more: Netanyahu accuses Macron of anti-Semitism in new letter

“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this anti-Semitic fire. 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,” Netanyahu wrote.

He urged Macron to take a stronger stance against anti-Semitism in France, adding that he must “replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve, and to do so by a clear date: the Jewish New Year, September 23.”