The French ambassador has come under fire from Twitter users for tweeting, and then deleting, a message that called European Union boycotts of Israel "positive."
"EU Discrimination against Israel? Yes, positive," Gerard Araud, France’s ambassador to the U.S. tweeted on Wednesday. "The association of Israel to the EU is much closer than most countries in the world."
Araud quickly deleted the tweet. He told one Twitter user "I was referring to positive discrimination i.e in favor of Israel but knowing the paranoia of some, I desisted."
A spokesman for the French Embassy declined to provide further clarification when approached by the Washington Free Beacon on Thursday for comment.
A spokesman said that the embassy has "no particular comment" on the matter and directed the Free Beacon to other messages Araud later retweeted.
Some users criticized Araud for endorsing discrimination against Israel, while remaining silent about a range of countries guilty of what they deemed far worse behavior.
Others labeled Araud’s stance as a "double standard."
The European Union has faced criticism from pro-Israel organizations and others for recently approving a measure to label products made by disputed Israel communities as having been "made in settlements."
Critics have described this as a form of discrimination against Israel and Jewish manufacturers.