Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced on Thursday that he would be cutting ties with the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, "until she retracts the blood libel she directed at the world's only Jewish state" after reports surfaced that she had compared Israel to apartheid South Africa.
Kallas "has for some time now been acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the State of Israel," Sa'ar tweeted, responding to the report from news site Euractiv.
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 EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy in December 2024, visited Mexico City on May 20-22 as part of a delegation attending a summit.
During closed-door meetings with Mexican government representatives, Kallas allegedly likened Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to the racist policies of apartheid South Africa.
Officials and diplomats, including those present at the meeting, reportedly 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 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, according to the outlet.
Responding to Sa'ar's statement on Thursday, Kallas said she valued "dialogue and engagement" with the Jewish state and remained open to continuing it "respectfully and constructively”.
"Dialogue is the foundation of diplomacy, especially when differences arise," she tweeted. "The EU is always committed to a constructive relationship with Israel.
"To bring peace to the Middle East, the two-state solution remains the only viable path. The E.U. has condemned the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank that make it increasingly difficult to get to that goal," added the diplomat. "That is the EU position."
Sa'ar countered that "even in your remarks here, you refrain from denying or condemning what has been attributed to you and published publicly”.
"To the best of my knowledge, the statements attributed to you regarding 'apartheid' do not reflect the position of the European Union. The matter is simple: if you did indeed make these vile and defamatory statements, stand behind them. If you did not make them, deny it," Sa'ar tweeted.
"Until this matter is cleared up, my decision will remain unchanged.”
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