Boycotts of Israel are a new form of terrorism that is trying to hurt the citizens of Israel and the Israeli economy, President Isaac Herzog said Wednesday at a ceremony honoring Israel's late prime ministers and presidents.
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Herzog made his statements after ice cream giant Ben & Jerry's announced it would stop selling its products beyond the Green Line, or as the company put it, in the "occupied Palestinian territories."
"There is no doubt that all the prime ministers and presidents of Israel over the years would respond harshly to the loathsome calls to boycott Israel and the citizens of Israel," Herzog said.
"We must oppose boycott and terrorism in any form. The BDS campaign does not seek peace, and wants to undermine Israel's very existence. It is now taking aim at the Israeli economy," Herzog continued.
Herzog also discussed the importance of unity in Israel, saying that the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, the "father of the unity government, as a concept and a reality … insisted when he didn't have to on establishing a unity government."
"He [Shamir] led it to impressive achievements," the president noted.
"We tend to think today that it's either/or – or one can be an ideologue, or supporter of unity, because unity demands compromise. But there was never an ideologue and a notable right-winger like Yitzhak Shamir, and there has never been as radical a man of unity as he was," Herzog continued.
The president addressed Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, saying, "Mr. Prime Minister, I know you and your colleagues in the government think exactly like I do, and I hope, for all the Israeli people, that this is how you will act, for the sake of the unity of Israel."
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