European Jewish leaders accuse EU foreign policy chief of fueling antisemitism

The head of the European Union’s foreign service, Kaja Kallas, drew condemnation after comparing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to apartheid-era South Africa during high-level talks in Mexico City. The remarks sparked a sharp response from Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, which represents and works for hundreds of Jewish communities across Europe.

Margolin said Kallas was “fanning the flames of antisemitism” and called her apartheid comments false. In a statement, he said he had hoped such “false and crude language” belonged to the past, buried with the “dubious legacy” of her predecessor, Josep Borrell. He added that it was “a shame” that, after a promising start, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs was returning to her predecessor’s patterns.

The rabbi said the term apartheid, like genocide, carries great emotional and historical weight, and that using it dishonestly strips it of meaning. “There is nothing in Israel, even remotely, that resembles apartheid,” he said, adding that such claims serve those who want to blame Jews for Europe’s antisemitism crisis and make Jewish life more difficult.

Margolin also argued that Jews played a disproportionate role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, including as lawyers, underground activists and political leaders, and that many risked their lives, were jailed or went into exile because of their own history of persecution. He said Kallas was “adding fuel directly to the fire of antisemitism,” and the EJA called on foreign ministers to recognize the danger and distance themselves from her remarks.