EU Foreign Policy Chief Reportedly Compared Israel to Apartheid South Africa

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas reportedly compared Israel to apartheid-era South Africa during a meeting with senior officials in Mexico City last month, according to a report published Friday by Euractiv. Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, was in Mexico as part of a delegation of European officials.

The remarks were said to have been made in closed-door meetings attended by representatives of the Mexican government. According to people present, she likened Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to South Africa’s apartheid policies.

Diplomats quoted by the site said Kallas also spoke about being moved by a recent visit to South Africa and to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. One European diplomat said the comparison was not acceptable and does not reflect EU policy.

The diplomat added, “The European Union is critical of Israel and supports a two-state solution. The apartheid comparison is not acceptable and is not the European Union’s policy. It is a big problem that she creates with statements like this, while she officially represents the European Union on the global stage.” Kallas’s office did not respond to the report.