By JNS and EJP
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Thursday that he would be cutting ties with the office of E.U. High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas “until she retracts the blood libel she directed at the world’s only Jewish state.”
Kallas “has for some time now been acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the State of Israel,” Sa’ar wrote on X, responding to reports that the European official, during a closed-door meeting, likened Jerusalem’s treatment of Palestinians to South Africa under the apartheid regime.
“Recently, it was published that during her visit to Mexico, she compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime that existed in South Africa. I am grateful to the many European elected representatives who condemned this grave statement,” Sa’ar said.
Jerusalem’s top diplomat noted that “to date, no denial, clarification or response has been issued by her regarding this severe statement.
“Therefore, as the foreign minister of the State of Israel, I have no choice but to sever all contact with Ms. Kallas until she retracts the blood libel she directed at the world’s only Jewish state, which is also the only democracy in the Middle East,” he concluded.
Kallas, a former Estonian Prime Minister who took up her post as the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy in December 2024, visited Mexico City on May 20-22 as part of an E.U. delegation attending a summit.
During closed-door meetings with Mexican government representatives, Kallas likened Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, Judea and Samaria to the racist policies of apartheid South Africa, E.U. affairs news website Euractiv reported, citing officials and diplomats.
Officials and diplomats, including those present at the meeting, told Euractiv that she described how moved she was by a visit last year to South Africa and its apartheid museum in Johannesburg.
“The comparison with apartheid is unacceptable and not E.U. policy. It is a big problem if she is making these kinds of statements while officially representing the E.U. on the world stage,” said one E.U. diplomat, according to Euractiv.
German MEP Hildergarde Bentele, who chairs the European Parliament delegation for relations with Israel, wrote on X: ”If these reports are true, comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa is not only factually wrong, but also completely unacceptable for someone speaking on behalf of the EU.”
”At a time when Member States are questioning the direction and size of the EEAS, such remarks further undermine trust in Europe’s foreign policy apparatus,” she added.