Itongadol.- British Secretary of Justice Michael Gove on Tuesday came out against the BDS movement, saying the "campaign indulges prejudice rather than fighting it."
In a speech at a conference on anti-Semitism in Berlin, Gove indicated that the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign leads to anti-Semitism.
"[BDS] calls for the shunning of Jewish academics, the boycott of Jewish goods, the de-legitimization of Jewish commerce," he said at the third Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism. "We have seen these all before. And we know where it takes us."
More than 100 parliamentarians from nearly 40 countries, as well as a plethora of nongovernmental organizations attended the conference.
Gove underlined that the government in London has restricted the adaptation of the movement by public bodies in the UK, where BDS efforts have become popular with various student and academia groups.
"We have made clear that local authorities and public bodies cannot adopt BDS policies aimed at Israel; they cannot use public resources to discriminate against Jewish people, Jewish goods and a Jewish state," he stated.
At the forum, Gove also parlayed a message from British Prime Minister David Cameron, vowing to fight anti-Semitism.
"Together, we will make sure Britain remains a country that Jewish people are proud to call home – today, tomorrow and for every generation to come," Gove said quoting Cameron.
In 2015, the UK witnessed the third-highest number of anti-Semitic hate incidents in one year, according to figures from the Community Security Trust.
There were 924 incidents of anti-Semitism reported to either the CST or the police during the course of the year, the CST, a communal security organization for British Jews which also monitors anti-Semitism in the UK, said on Thursday.