1 min read
For those who believe in Israel's right to defend itself and who reject antisemitism, it is easy to feel swamped with bad news. An overwhelmingly hostile media and a rise in antisemitic incidents during Operation Protective Edge are - to put it mildly - depressing.
And it sometimes seems that boycott campaigners who elide antisemitism with their supposed anti-Israel campaigning are making headway. But for all their sound and fury, their impact - judging from facts, rather than assertion - has been zero. Not even zero; trade between the UK and Israel actually rose during the period covering Operation Protection Edge.
The figures show not merely that the anti-Israel brigade's demand for a boycott was ignored but that it was swatted away with contempt. Exports from Israel to the UK have risen by a whopping 38 per cent year-on-year. And there is no reason to believe that this rosy picture will not become even rosier over the next few months and years.
The boycotters make a lot of noise but the facts shows that they are, in reality, a tiny, insignificant, unsuccessful group whose views are rightly ignored.