Kaja Kallas’s false apartheid remarks add fuel to antisemitism fire in Europe-top european Rabbi

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association (EJA), which advocates for and represents many hundreds of Jewish communities across the continent, was scathing of comments attributed to EEAS Chief Kaja Kallas, in which the High Representative compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to South Africa’s apartheid era during high-level talks in Mexico City.

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Rabbi Margolin said Kallas’ comments are “fuelling the antisemitism fire in Europe.”

In a statement, Rabbi Margolin said: “We had hoped that such blatantly false language was in the past, buried deep along with the dubious legacy of Josep Borrell. It is a pity that after such a promising start, the High Representative is reverting to her predecessor’s type.

Apartheid, just like genocide, is a very important word. It carries weight and is pregnant with emotional and historical meaning. To use it in such a context diminishes it.

It is an absolute falsehood: there is absolutely nothing that even resembles apartheid in Israel.

It also plays directly into the hands of those that are responsible for the antisemitism crisis that is plaguing the continent and making life so incredibly difficult for European Jewry.

The High Representative should know that Jewish activists played a disproportionately large role in the South African anti-apartheid movement. Driven by a cultural history of persecution, many risked their lives, imprisonment, and exile to fight the regime as lawyers, underground operatives, and political leaders.”

“Kaja Kallas, through her words, is directly adding fuel to the antisemitic fire. The EJA urges Foreign Ministers to recognise this danger, and to distance themselves from her remarks.”, add Rabbi Margolin.

Kaja Kallas compared Israel to South Africa’s racist apartheid era during high-level talks in Mexico, breaking ranks with EU official foreign policy and deepening the controversy around her leadership.

The remark comes as the European External Action Service (EEAS), which she heads, is facing an unparalleled level of criticism about whether it is fit for purpose during the second term of Donald Trump, and amid greater geopolitical uncertainty.

Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, travelled to Mexico City from 20 to 22 May as part of a senior EU delegation attending a major summit in the country.

During closed-door and confidential meetings with Mexican government representatives, Kallas compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to the racist apartheid policies of South Africa, which ended in the early 1990s.

Officials and diplomats, including those present at the meeting, told Euractiv thatshe described how moved she was by a visit last year to South Africa and its apartheid museum in the capital, Johannesburg.

South Africa had a strict state policy of forced racial segregation between whites and blacks, known as apartheid, that lasted from 1948 to the early 1990s before being brought down by figures such as Nelson Mandela.

Tough talking

The accusation that Israel’s policies and military action, following the attacks by Hamas in October 2023, are rooted in an apartheid-type policy of racism towards Palestinians, or Arabs, is highly controversial.

While there is some sympathy from the Irish and Spanish governments, the EU has steered well clear of such claims, which have been categorically rejected by countries including Germany and France.

The claim also forms the basis of South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where the country alleges that Israel has violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention in Gaza.

In line with the EU’s policy, Kallas has acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defence but has said the response should be proportionate, while criticising Israeli settlements on the West Bank as undermining the possibility of a two-state solution.

“The EU is critical of Israel and supports a two-state solution. The comparison with apartheid is unacceptable and not EU policy. It is a big problem if she is making these kinds of statements while officially representing the EU on the world stage,” said one EU diplomat.

Kallas’ office was asked for a response on Monday, but declined to comment, either to confirm or deny the report.