'Netanyahu failed in stemming tide of BDS against Israel,' Herzog says

Zionist Union chief tells Channel 2 that Israel is in the midst of 'a diplomatic intifada.'

By JPOST.COM STAFF
A protester chants slogans near a banner reading "Boycott Israel" during an anti-Israel march in Malmo (photo credit: REUTERS)
A protester chants slogans near a banner reading "Boycott Israel" during an anti-Israel march in Malmo
(photo credit: REUTERS)
With the Israeli political establishment still up in arms over French cellular giant Orange’s plans to end its business arrangement in the country, opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) took to the airwaves on Friday and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to adequately address the specter of anti-Israel boycotts.
“Netanyahu has failed in dealing with this boycott,” Herzog (Zionist Union) told Channel 2. “He is incapable of overcoming it. Instread, he is leading us to a Jewish-Arab state.”
“It is now 48 years since the outbreak of the Six-Day War,” he said. “We have never been closer to a Jewish-Arab state of six million Jews and six million Arabs. This, among other things, is what is fueling that same campaign.”
The Zionist Union leader said Israel’s predicament was compounded by the fact that the premier “doesn’t have an intimate, courageous relationship with the White House,” which he described as “a vital element in this struggle.”
To compound the problem, Herzog said, Netanyahu “isn’t offering a diplomatic initiative of his own.”
Herzog also criticized the supporters of boycotts against Israel.
“For years, I’ve devoted efforts in the fight against the boycott movement,” he said. “We will fight to protect Israel’s good name. This is a diplomatic intifada being waged by the haters of Israel. But, with all due respect, the one leading the country is the prime minister, and his circus government is incapable of waging this fight.”
Herzog told Channel 2 that he has appeared on college campuses and in various media outlets to campaign against BDS. He added that his No. 2 on the Zionist Union list, former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, will travel abroad in order to represent the party and “take on students who have been brainwashed to oppose our country.”
Still, Herzog said that the danger of more boycotts was as acute as ever.
“Everywhere in the world, there are company executives asking their lawyers whether it is possible to do business here,” Herzog said.