Sa'ar cuts ties with EU foreign policy chief over apartheid remark

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Thursday that he is severing all contact with the European Union's top foreign policy official, Kaja Kallas, after reports that she compared Israel to apartheid-era South Africa during a visit to Mexico.

In a statement, Sa'ar accused Kallas of acting for some time with “obsessiveness” and “shameful dishonesty” against Israel. He said the report prompted criticism and condemnations from elected officials in Europe, but that Kallas has not denied the remarks, responded to them, or addressed them publicly.

Sa'ar thanked the many European lawmakers who distanced themselves from what he called severe comments. He said, “I have no choice but to cut off all contact with Ms. Kallas, until she retracts the blood libel she hurled at the only Jewish state, which is also the only democracy in the Middle East.”