London Mayor Boris Johnson, during a visit to Israel, has dismissed those who call for a boycott of the country as "corduroy-jacketed lefty academics".
Johnson, known for his tousled blond hair and blunt speaking style, said the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign, known by its BDS initials, was motivated by "misunderstanding".
"I cannot think of anything more foolish than to say you want to have any kind of divestment or sanction... or boycott, against a country that, when all is said and done, is the only democracy in the region," he told journalists, according to AFP.