Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On on Saturday said anti-Semitism was not the reason for boycott calls against the Jewish state. Instead she said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was bringing on "this spiraling trend" single-handedly.
Gal-On said she has had enough "with this embarrassing victimization by Netanyahu and his ministers in the government" and that "no one in the Western world is talking about boycotts because of anti-Semitism." Speaking at a cultural event in Tel Aviv's Habima, the Meretz chairwoman said the prime minister must decide if giving up Israel's international legitimacy for the sake of the settlements is worth it.
"Welcome to reality," Gal-On said in comments addressed directly to the premier. "It is not 1938, it is 2015. Israel has been independent for 67 years and calls for boycotts are the result of the Palestinian people being denied their freedom. Netanyahu has to pull his head out of the sand and stop saying the entire world is anti-Semitic."
She added: "As long as he continues with his policies in the Palestinian territories this conflict will continue to yield calls for boycotts. Continuing the occupation has an international price."
