Israeli PM sets ultimatums for both countries to combat antisemitism
Photo by Hudson Institute – Benjamin Netanyahu Receives Hudson’s Herman Kahn Award, CC BY 2.0, Wikipedia
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on a diplomatic offensive on Tuesday, sending harshly worded letters to the leaders of France and Australia after both countries had recently sharply criticized Israel and vowed to recognize a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu particularly slammed the leaders for not effectively combating the rising antisemitism in their countries, instead accusing them of fanning the flames through their actions against Israel.
In a letter sent to French President Emmanuel Macron, who has led a push to recognize a Palestinian state at a U.N. assembly in September, Netanyahu emphasized that antisemitism had “surged” after the announcement.
“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic 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 in the letter seen by the AFP.
The premier added an ultimatum for Macron to “replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve, and to do so by a clear date: the Jewish New Year, September 23,” known as Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew.
Macron’s office rejected Netanyahu’s accusations as “abject” and “erroneous,” vowing France would “always protect its Jewish citizens,” while threatening that the letter “will not go unanswered.”
Benjamin Haddad, the minister for Europe, said France had “no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism,” accusing Netanyahu of “exploiting” the issue that is “poisoning our European societies.”
A similar letter was sent to Australia, which earlier this week cancelled the visa for an Israeli lawmaker from Netanyahu’s coalition. According to Sky News, which obtained a copy of the latter, it was dated to last Sunday.
In addition to calling Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a “weak man” who had “betrayed” Israel on Tuesday in a post on X, Netanyahu, in the letter, accused him of fueling “this antisemitic fire” by calling for recognition of a Palestinian state.
This “rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages” and “emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets,” Netanyahu wrote.
“It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement,” Netanyahu charged, imploring Albanese to follow the example of the Trump administration in the U.S.
“The President is protecting the civil rights of American Jews, enforcing the law, protecting public order and prosecuting antisemitic crimes. He has also deported Hamas sympathizers and revoked the visas of foreign students who incite violence against Jews.”
“Prime Minister, antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent. It retreats when leaders act. I call upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve, and to do so by a clear date: the Jewish New Year, September 23, 2025.”
Albanese responded by saying he doesn’t “take these things personally. I engage with people diplomatically. He has had similar things to say about other leaders.”
He added that he had reached out to Netanyahu prior to Australia’s announcement of its intent to recognize a Palestinian state.
“At that time, I gave Prime Minister Netanyahu a clear indication of my view and Australia’s view going forward but also a clear indication of the direction in which we were headed.”
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who had cancelled MK Simcha Rothman’s visa and banned him for three years, attacked Netanyahu for calling Albanese weak.
Strength is more than “how many people you can blow up,” Burke said, adding that Netanyahu’s comments were a sign of a frustrated leader “lashing out.”
“Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,” Burke told national broadcaster ABC.
Netanyahu’s comments appear to be part of a concerted offensive aimed at hitting back at numerous countries that made hostile moves against Israel in recent weeks.
In addition to Netanyahu’s letters to France and Australia, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also attacked Denmark’s prime minister, telling the newspaper Jyllands Posten she had “insulted” the Jewish state and its democracy by calling Netanyahu “a problem.”
However, contrary to the situation with France and Denmark, Sa’ar added a conciliatory remark, saying that despite Frederiksen’s comments, “we consider the Danish prime minister a friend.”
Sa’ar emphasized: “Pressure will not affect Israel at all. We are used to being under pressure. So, we will not be influenced by others when it comes to our country’s security. We will not change policy. If we bow to pressure, it would be suicidal for us, and it would also harm European interests.”
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