Jewish groups slam U.K. boycott

Jewish organizations slammed the decision by Britain’s largest trade union to support a boycott of Israel.Stop the Boycott Campaign, a coalition of Jewish community groups formed to respond to the boycott calls, slammed the Wednesday decision by UNISON to support a boycott of Israel. A spokesperson for the union said the vote only “recognizes the position” rather than enacting an actual boycott, the Jerusalem Post reported.Jeremy Newmark, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said the vote was “not in Britain’s or the Palestinians’ interest. We might see a tit-for-tat boycott of British goods. At a time when Israel and the Palestinians are engaging with each other at last, this UNISON vote flies in the face of common sense. We should all condemn this impractical and foolish decision.”Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the move would hold the union, and Britain as a whole, “up for derision and ridicule.”The motion says UNISON “believes that ending the occupation demands concerted and sustained pressure upon Israel including an economic, cultural, academic and sporting boycott.”