Furthermore, boycotts of Israel — whether they target Israeli universities, companies or other institutions — are rarely limited to those based or originating in the West Bank. Even when they target Jews in the West Bank specifically, they are ill-advised, because the economies of Israel and the Jewish communities of the West Bank are completely integrated: to boycott the latter but not the former is like trying to refuse business with anyone or anything operating in Yorkshire while readily engaging with the rest of the UK. Israeli companies and people who operate on the West Bank side of the green line almost invariably do so on the other side as well, rendering targeted boycotts farcical. For example, the Norwegian government announced in August 2010 that the government pension fund would not invest in two Israeli companies that were reportedly operating in the West Bank. In 2013, upon review, the ban was reversed. Then, in 2014, upon further review, the reversal was reversed.

Even when a boycott appears to be confined to the West Bank, it is not. For example, SodaStream, an Israeli company that produces water-carbonators and at one point hired the actress Scarlett Johansson as its brand ambassador, was boycotted worldwide because one of the factories it operated was located in the West Bank. However, the factory employees were local Arabs who generally enjoyed higher salaries and better working conditions than their peers working in the Arab economy and were an example of Jews and Arabs coexisting for their mutual betterment.

But that did nothing to mitigate the animus of BDS, which protested against the company at every opportunity. In the UK, for example, John Lewis removed SodaStream products after its Oxford Street shop was the target of constant demonstrations. The SodaStream shop in Brighton was also the scene of regular protests before it closed down. Johansson herself was forced to resign from her role at Oxfam for accepting the SodaStream position. For a combination of commercial and political reasons, SodaStream did eventually announce it would relocate its West Bank factory to the Negev, an area well within Israel’s internationally-recognised borders.

Some thought that that would be the end of BDS’s interest in the company. They were wrong. Advocates of BDS now complained that the factory was to be built on stolen Bedouin land. Obviously this ridiculous rationale or some derivation thereof could be applied to any part of the Jewish state, revealing BDS’s real ambition — to eliminate Israel entirely.

Insofar as BDS’s goal is to destroy Israel, it has obviously not been a success. Boycotts have not had the commercial impact those in the BDS movement hoped for. Trade between Israel and the UK in 2014, for instance — a year that saw Israel’s extended military engagement against Hamas in Gaza — soared to £3.9 billion, a record high. Despite calls for a boycott, a White Paper on Trade and Investment for Growth issued by the British government in 2011 highlighted Israel as a pivotal strategic partner for Britain’s future, and British imports from Israel continue to grow. British exports to Israel are growing even faster, giving Israel important economic leverage against any future British boycott. Meanwhile, trade between Israel and the EU in 2014 was valued by the European Commission at more than €30 billion and is growing too. Trade between Israel and the United States is around $36 billion a year, and Israel’s trade with China is accelerating rapidly, exceededing $10 billion in the first months of 2015.