A sharp diplomatic clash erupted between Israel and the European Union after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Thursday he was cutting off contact with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over remarks attributed to her comparing Israel to South Africa’s apartheid regime.
Sa’ar’s announcement came about a week after the reported comments were published. According to Sa’ar, Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, has not denied, clarified or addressed the remarks.
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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar
(Photo: AP Photo/Leo Correa)
“Kaja Kallas, the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, has for some time been acting obsessively and with disgraceful unfairness against the State of Israel,” Sa’ar said.
“It was recently publicly reported that during her visit to Mexico, she compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime that existed in South Africa,” he added. “I thank the many European elected officials who rejected and condemned these grave remarks.”
Sa’ar said that because Kallas had not responded to the report, he had no choice but to sever contact with her.
“However, so far Kallas has refrained from any denial, response or reference on her part regarding the remarks,” he said. “Therefore, as foreign minister of the State of Israel, 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. And that is what I am doing.”
The move marks another low point in Israel’s relations with the EU’s foreign policy leadership. Israel also boycotted Kallas’ predecessor, Josep Borrell, who was repeatedly criticized by Jerusalem over his positions on the war and on Israel’s conduct.
Kallas had initially been seen in Jerusalem as relatively balanced toward Israel compared with some other senior EU figures. But Israeli officials say that over the past year, she has shifted her tone, in line with a broader hardening of positions among many EU leaders toward Israel.