Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tore into British students Wednesday for joining the Boycott Israel movement, while a British official tried to cover up a government boycott action by promising a “commitment” to trade with Israel.

The National Union of Students in Britain voted Tuesday to join the BDS movement to boycott Israel. The move has little practical effect but is an important propaganda victory for the Boycott Israel movement.

The British government, along with France and several other countries, also have boycotted Israel by banning companies in their countries from staging an exhibition at this week’s seventh annual Israel Defense Expo in Tel Aviv.

Rob Dixon, Britain’s Deputy Ambassador to Israel, ignored the ban at the exhibition, as if it didn’t happen, and assured Israel on Wednesday that   his government is against BDS and is “committed to advancing trade links” with Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, during a meeting with visiting Canadian Foreign Minister Robert Nicholson, chastised the British students Union for joining BDS and said:

They condemn Israel and do not condemn ISIS; they condemn themselves.

Israel has an exemplary democracy. We have academic freedom, press freedom, human rights. ISIS tramples human rights to the dust. It burns people alive in cages and the national student groups in Britain refuse to boycott ISIS and have boycotted Israel. It tells you everything you want to know about the BDS movement.

[Jewish Press]