Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Thursday he is cutting all ties with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, after reports emerged that she compared Israel to apartheid South Africa during a visit to Mexico.
1+In a statement, Sa’ar sharply attacked Kallas, claiming she “has been acting for some time with obsessive and shamefully dishonest behavior against the State of Israel.” He said her reported remarks drew criticism and condemnation from European elected officials, but so far she has neither denied them nor addressed them publicly.
“I thank the many European elected officials who expressed reservations and condemned these serious statements,” the foreign minister added, emphasizing: “To date, Kallas has refrained from any denial, response, or comment regarding these statements.”
1+Against this backdrop, Sa’ar announced that “I have no choice but to sever 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.”