When I paid my first visit to Bar Ilan university, one student told me that he knew the British Government was opposed to boycotts. But what, he asked, about the British people?

I am glad that the British government’s opposition to boycotts is understood. Prime Minister David Cameron set it out in the Knesset in 2014. Mayor of London Boris Johnson repeated the message in Israel last November. Cabinet Office Minister Matthew Hancock announced new guidance which reiterates that British public bodies should not implement their own boycotts when he visited last month. Our commitment is practical – it’s not just words.

What about the British public? It’s hard to be precise, but I don’t believe there is widespread support for boycotts in the UK. We see little practical impact from calls for boycotts – our trade and investment are at record levels. A recent independent survey found that more than 80 percent of Israeli tech executives and investors are interested in collaboration with UK, and only 3 percent are concerned about opposition to Israel or anti-Semitism in the UK.

But support for boycotts is growing. I might disagree with it, but much of the criticism is within the bounds of legitimate debate in a democratic society. It reflects a genuine frustration with the lack of progress toward peace. Some of it is much uglier, with wholly unacceptable tones of anti-Semitism.

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