Israel’s Foreign Minister Cuts Ties with EU Foreign Policy Chief Over Remarks on Israel

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced an abrupt diplomatic boycott and a complete severing of contact with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief. Saar said he was acting because of what he described as her hostile statements about Israel.

In a public statement, Saar accused Kallas of having “for some time” pursued an “obsessive” and “blatantly cruel” approach toward Israel. He said that during a recent visit to Mexico, she reportedly compared Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.

Saar added that many members of the European Parliament had condemned the remark, but said Kallas had still issued no denial, clarification, or response. He said that as Israel’s foreign minister, he had no choice but to stop all contact with her until she withdrew what he called a “blood libel” against the only Jewish state in the world and the Middle East’s only democracy.

He concluded by saying, “And this is what I am doing.”