World Jewish Congress (WJC) president Ronald Lauder has urged British Jewry to increase its fight against the worldwide BDS movement, calling such work “an honour” for the community.

Speaking at a dinner in London co-hosted by the WJC and Bicom, he told his audience, which included MP Alistair Burt, Israeli Ambassador Daniel Taub and members of the Board of Deputies, that the community is “not powerless – far from it.

“We have the resources. We have the intelligence. Most important, we have unbounded determination.”

Over the past year, the WJC has been working to counter the boycott, divestment and sanctions movements on campuses around the world, launching the Global Campus Initiative in 2013 to aid Jewish students in their fight against anti-Israel boycotts in their universities.

According to Mr Lauder, the organisation is now turning its attention towards changing legislation in the in the United States in order to “withhold government funding from academic institutions that boycott Israel” .

He said: “We will draft and lobby for federal anti-discrimination statutes in the United States against banks, businesses and governments that target only Israel.

“We will follow the money to find out just who is funding these attacks on Israel and if there is any connection to terrorism.”

Mr Lauder warned boycott activists that “a campaign against Israel is a double-edged sword” .