America’s new ambassador to France personifies the corruption of western diplomacy as it authorises the genocide of Palestinians
If you were to caricature the most outlandish Donald Trump-nominated Ambassador to France possible, it is certain that he could not speak a word of French.
More than that, he would have no record for diplomacy whatsoever, have spent time in prison for very serious offences, and have been involved in a particularly sleazy sex scandal.
Such a gruesome prospect turned to reality this summer when Charles Kushner, the 71-year-old father-in-law of Trump’s eldest daughter, turned up in Paris as the successor of luminaries including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Such towering figures worked to boost peace and reconciliation around the world from the French capital, where they were early representatives of the United States of America.
Both Franklin and Jefferson spoke French fluently, as they also endeavoured to solidify Franco-American relations at every opportunity.
Kushner, in contrast, managed to poison such a proud legacy within a few weeks of being sworn in to a job that he is singularly unqualified for.
He also appeared far more interested in bolstering Israeli propaganda than in working with one of America’s oldest allies.
Kushner violated international law by criticising the current French government’s domestic policies aimed at combating antisemitism – something that ambassadors are forbidden from doing, in line with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
He also made it quite clear that he supports Israel’s ongoing massacre of Palestinian civilians, while reducing their land to rubble, and attempting to steal it all.
Attacking France’s decision to recognise the State of Palestine, Kushner wrote in a U.S. newspaper column in August: “Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France.”
He also stated, against evidence that includes many Jews opposing Israel’s murderous policies: “In today’s world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism – plain and simple.”
An Élysée Palace statement read that the “claim that France’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state as early as September is the cause of the rise in antisemitic violence in France is incorrect, outrageous, and will not go unanswered.”
Kushner was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry for his appalling behaviour, but – unsurprisingly – failed to show up, and sent his chargé d’affaires instead.
Then, hiding his rasping voice behind a simultaneous translation, Kushner followed in the Trump tradition of trying to TV talk his way out of a scandal.
There was a measure of deeply black humour in Kushner’s antics, but this could not conceal what his appointment says about the way the West is emboldening Israel as it carries out its crimes against humanity.
More than 63,000 Palestinians – many of them children – have been killed and tens of thousands more maimed (Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world) by Israeli forces since October 7th 2023, when 1200 Israelis including civilians, as well as soldiers, police, and members of the Shin Bet security agency lost their lives during a Hamas-led raid – many at the hands of the Israeli army. In turn, 1,609 of the Palestinian attackers were killed on the day.
READ: Israel’s use of ‘Hannibal Directive’ on 7 October confirmed by new evidence
In July, two leading Israeli organisations – B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel – both said Israel’s conduct in Gaza constitutes genocide.
A joint statement reads that “in these dark times it is especially important to call things by their name” while “calling on this crime to stop immediately”.
In turn, during his appearance on the LCI news channel, Kushner was largely soft-soaped by a grinning interviewer who did not once mention the Ambassador being an extremely close friend of Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu – an alleged war criminal who has also been indicted on multiple corruption charges.
Nor was Kushner asked about his own time in a federal prison for crimes including a blackmail scam in which he filmed his own brother-in-law with a specially hired prostitute over an investigation into Kushner’s illegal campaign donations.
Kushner’s son, Jared Kushner – who is married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump – is a leading figure behind the plan to bulldoze Gaza and relocate its population while it is turned into a glitzy seaside resort, but this was ignored by LCI.
So too was the way Kushner was “pardoned” for his crimes by Trump after Kushner – who inherited thousands of New Jersey apartments from his father, allowing him to become a property billionaire – became one of Trump’s biggest electoral donors.
Instead, Kushner was allowed to double down on his claims about antisemitism on LCI, agreeing with Netanyahu that France was not doing enough to protect a community of some half-a-million Jews.
Turning supreme ignorance and inadequacy into something to be boastful about, Kushner said: “If President Trump wanted to select the best diplomat to come to France, he didn’t make the right choice. I’m not the best. And I don’t think he’s the greatest diplomat either. That’s why he’s one of the greatest presidents of the United States. He doesn’t understand the protocols, and neither do I.”
What Kushner should have said is that he is diplomatically illiterate, and – according to Chris Christie, the prosecutor who put him in a prison cell, someone who was guilty of “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” ever seen.
More than that, Kushner is a disgrace to one of the most venerated missions in the world, and a prime example of how western diplomacy is regularly subverted on behalf of Israel’s abhorrent crimes.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.