In a heated attack on the boycott movement dubbed Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), Netanyahu told a conference of US Jewish organizations in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Monday that it was time to “delegitimize the delegitimizers."
"In the past anti-Semites boycotted Jewish businesses and today they call for the boycott of the Jewish state, and by the way, only the Jewish state," Netanyahu said.
"I think that it is important that the boycotters be exposed for what they are, they are classical anti-Semites in modern garb," Netanyahu said.
The BDS is a movement sponsored by pro-Palestinian intellectuals and bloggers and is calling for a boycott on all Israeli goods as an act of protest against Israel’s policy towards Palestine.
It encourages its supporters to “target products and companies (Israeli and international) that profit from the violation of Palestinian rights, as well as Israeli sporting, cultural and academic institutions.”
The “most disgraceful” aspect of the movement, said Netanyahu, is the fact that European companies are participating in the boycott.
Israeli regime is facing international pressure over its violation of Palestinians’ rights, especially regarding its illegal settlemtn activities.
US Secretary of State John Kerry also drew the fury of Israeli authorities following a conference in Munich this month regarding the Middle East peace process.
Kerry warned that if peace was not reached with the Palestinians, it is possible that calls for a boycott and the delegitimization of Israel will continue to grow.
“You see for Israel there is an increasing deligitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it," said Kerry. "There [is] talk of boycotts and other kinds of things. Are we all going to (be) better with all of that?”
The Tel Aviv regime has increased its illegal settlement expansion following an upgrade of Palestine’s status at the UN to a non-member observer state on November 29, 2012.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds. Much of the international community considers the settlements illegal.
SHI/SHI