Former president Shimon Peres has said that he is planning a major conference in London focused on future innovation.
Mr Peres made the announcement during a public discussion with London Mayor Boris Johnson at the Peres Centre for Peace.
Leading academics and scientists from across the world will be invited to the event, to be held next April.
When Mr Peres was asked if Mr Johnson would be attending the conference, he said: “No, not attending. I told him I expect him to be the blowing wind of tomorrow.”
While on his trip to Israel Mr Johnson praised Israel as a tech hub and hit out at "left academics" involved in boycotting the country.
"Why boycott Israel?" he said.
“I cannot think of anything more foolish than to say you want to have any kind of divestment or sanctions or boycott against a country that, when all is said and done, is the only democracy in the region, is the only place that has, in my view, a pluralist open society,” he told reporters.
Boris on the boycott of Israel"The supporters of this so-called boycott are a bunch of corduroy-jacketed lefty academics" Boris Johnson gives his view on the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel during his trip to build economic ties with Tel Aviv.
Posted by Channel 4 News on Monday, 9 November 2015
On a trip to Yad Vashem on Tuesday Mr Johnson said that the Holocaust “still has lessons for humanity today”. He placed a wreath in Yad Vashem’s Hall of Remembrance, and signed the museum's guestbook with the message that "no one must ever forget what happened" in the Holocaust.
He told reporters: "It’s very important we do remember what happened and do understand that truth, because I’m afraid it still has lessons for humanity today."
Boris Johnson, Yad Vashem. @MayorofLondon @ukinisrael #borisinisrael pic.twitter.com/gDnf3PNKnk
— Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) November 10, 2015
