After the United Kingdom, Israel is the top country for listings on the London Stock Exchange, with 76% of those listing during the past five years having a tech focus, and where they have collectively raised more than £240m during this time.
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“I can not think of anything more foolish than to say you want to have any kind of divestment or sanctions or boycott against a country that, when all is said and done, is the only democracy in the region, is the only place that has, in my view, a pluralist and open society”, said Johnson.
The Mayor of London is calling for stronger technology trade links with Israel, after new research revealed that London has become the leading European destination for Israeli technology companies looking to expand overseas.
Johnson is in Israel on a trip meant to strengthen economic ties between London and Tel Aviv.
In Tel Aviv, the Mayor will be accompanied by representatives from 15 London tech firms, all of whom are looking to boost their bottom line by partnering with Israeli tech experts.
Here’s the moment the Mayor tried on an Oculus virtual reality headset at Google’s offices in Tel Aviv.
“Our digital entrepreneurs are already competing fiercely with those from NY and Silicon Valley and I’m delighted that as a tech ambassador for London I can help spread the message as to why London is the technology capital of the world”.
Education technology accounts for just a few percentage points of the global tech market, but is projected to reach £129bn by 2025, according to a recent report by London & Partners and Edtech UK. “Why boycott Israel?” Johnson told London-based Channel 4 news.
After traveling to Japan last month to showcase how London’s fintech sector can provide benefits to Tokyo’s market, London Mayor Boris Johnson arrives in Tel Aviv today.
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Mr Johnson, regarded as a candidate to replace David Cameron as Conservative leader, added it takes a “huge amount of guts” to be willing to “forfeit sometimes” this backing in pursuit of doing the right thing.
