Tag: BDS

By Omid Memarian

To view original article, published by the Huffington Post on 19th July, click here

Susan Sarandon has expressed surprising unwillingness to denounce her support for the Israeli Billionaire, Lev Leviev, who is has been criticized by a variety of NGOs for his involvement in building settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In 2004, the ICJ declared both current Israeli settlements and the wall Israel is building inside the West Bank to facilitate future settlements inside the West Bank to be illegal under international law.

UNICEF has recently rejected all offers of partnerships and financial support from him. Lev Leviev had previously sponsored UNICEF fundraising events in France, and his support of UNICEF is featured in several places on his company’s website.

But it seems that Susan Sarandon, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, has decided not to follow UNICEF’s lead and cut all ties with Leviev. As recently as Nov. 13th, 2007, Sarandon appeared as a guest at Leviev’s New York jewelry store gala.

Last week while working on a story, I send an email to her spokesman. He responded:

“She is not a spokesperson for any jewelry company nor is she an expert on this matter. She has read information from various sources about both sides of the issue. Beyond this Ms. Sarandon does not feel qualified to make any further comment.”

I’ve always admired Ms. Sarandon’s good will and aspirations, but I was amazed by her response to this particular situation and especially her use of the phrase “reading information from both sides.” Christopher de Bono, UNICEF’s chief of media, told me that, “UNICEF’s decision was made after they undertook an internal screening process [and] concluded that donations from him would not be appropriate, because of the nature of some of his business activities.”

But was Ms. Sarandon an expert on Iraq, WMD, etc? How about when she spoke out against the U.S. war on Iraq? The fact is one doesn’t need to be an expert on agriculture or food to talk about the taste of egg or tomato. Regarding the international law, Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are morally wrong. Any participation and involvement in the creation of such settlements violates international law and presents an obstacle to peace.

Opposing Israeli settlements is one of the clearest morally “correct” positions to take on an Israel-Palestine issue. Many Israelis and even Zionists agree that it is wrong. Secretary of State Condi Rice regularly has warned the Israelis against settlements expansion. Leviev’s companies are among those responsible for expanding the settlements.

“Our position on settlements, I think, has been very consistent, very clear. The secretary expressed it not too long ago. He said settlement activity has severely undermined Palestinian trust and hope, preempts and prejudges the outcome of negotiations, and in doing so, cripples chances for real peace and prosperity. The U.S. has long opposed settlement activity and, consistent with the report of the Mitchell Committee, settlement activity must stop.” Mr. Richard Boucher, U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing — November 25, 2002

In denouncing settlements and those who build them, Sarandon does not need expertise to follow the lead of UNICEF, Oxfam International, the UN, all leading human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B’Tselem (Israeli) and almost all governments worldwide. If she is concerned about her expertise, she or her assistants can get on the phone and talk to any of those organizations..

Sarandon appears to be employing a double standard with respect to human rights in Palestine.,. She may be doing this due to personal beliefs or out of fear that publicly defending Palestinian rights will hurt her standing to speak out on issues in Iraq. Or, perhaps she might even fear that supporting Palestinian rights and criticizing Israel could hurt her position in Hollywood. Whatever the reason is, Sarandon seems to have forgotten that beyond the names of countries and influential people there are some universal rules we all should respect, and those are international laws.

By Sharmila Devi, Foreign Correspondent

To view original article, published by The National in Abu Dhabi on 12th July, click here

NEW YORK – Human rights protesters took to the streets in New York last week to continue their campaign against an Israeli billionaire who is suspected of building settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Adalah-NY, a Jewish-Palestinian umbrella group of activists, vowed to maintain pressure on Lev Leviev, a real estate and diamond mogul who is one of the richest men in Israel, over his suspected activities in the West Bank and to prevent him from opening more Leviev diamond jewellery stores in Dubai.

“There is growing awareness around the world about Leviev’s blatant human rights abuses,” said Daniel Lang-Levitsky, a spokesman for Jews Against the Occupation, which is part of Adalah-NY.

Unicef, the United Nations children’s agency, announced last month it would not accept any financial contributions from Leviev companies after finding “at least reasonable grounds for suspecting” they were building settlements in defiance of international law.

Mr Leviev is the chairman of Africa Israel Investments, a global conglomerate.

One of its units is Danya Cebus, which activists say is helping to construct the settlement of Zufim on land taken from the Palestinian village of Jayyous in the northern West Bank.

There is one Leviev store at the Mina Al Salam hotel in Dubai; plans to open more shops appear to be on hold while the Arab League’s Central Boycott Office in Damascus considers its position.

About 20 people gathered on a rainy afternoon outside the Leviev store on Madison Avenue on Wednesday for the latest in a string of protests that started last year. Wednesday was the fourth anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s ruling that Israel’s separation barrier illegally annexed Palestinian land.

Just inside the store, protected by a New York police cordon, a burly security guard in a suit stood behind a window display of diamonds and a printed list of Leviev store locations – London, New York, Moscow and Dubai.

The protesters chanted such slogans as “you sparkle, you shine, but settlements are still a crime” and “you’re glitzy, you’re glam, you’re stealing Palestinian land”. Many people walking past, including glamorous Upper East Side ladies, looked bemused but many took a leaflet.

“Our movement is providing a model for other campaigns in the boycott movement,” said Riham Barghouti, a spokesman for Adalah-NY, who is from Ramallah and works as a teacher in Brooklyn.

“Our main message to supporters either here or in the United Arab Emirates is that in spite of the difficulties, it is possible to get together and protest against human rights violations.”

Mr Leviev’s public relations staff would not comment. In an interview with Ha’aretz, an Israeli newspaper, this year, the usually media-shy Mr Leviev said he would build in the Palestinian territories as long as he had permission from Israel.

He said “groups that are funded by business competitors” were behind the protests but offered no evidence.

The Adalah-NY grassroots campaign – including protests, letters to the media and internet activism – is sharply focused against Mr Leviev and his business activities in the West Bank but also supports striking miners at his companies in Namibia and rent-controlled tenants at properties owned by the businessman in New York.

Although Adalah-NY is a small group, it said its effect was illustrated by Unicef’s rejection of further financial contributions from Mr Leviev.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism, defends Mr Leviev.

“The decision not to accept assistance from Mr Leviev smacks of selective political discrimination,” Mr Foxman said. “This decision only gives legitimacy to those who would seek to promote a boycott of the state of Israel and its supporters.”

The debate was taken up by Richard Silverstein, who runs the liberal Tikun Olam website.

“I’ve been following Adalah’s energetic, months-long campaign against Russo-Israeli diamond baron Lev Leviev with great interest. Not so much because I agree with Adalah’s politics regarding the I-P [Israel-Palestine] conflict but because I find Leviev’s political, commercial and religious interests to be so odious,” he wrote. “Through an imaginative, tenacious campaign they have nipped at Leviev’s heels all over the globe where he maintains commercial interests.”

By Abbas Al Lawati

To view original article, published on 3rd July in Gulf News, click here

The Arab League is considering blacklisting companies belonging to Israeli businessman Lev Leviev and that of his agent in the UAE, the pan-Arab body said just days after Unicef severed ties with the billionaire jeweller.

The move came following a decision by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to reject all partnerships and financing from Leviev in protest against the continued building of Jewish colonies in the occupied West Bank by companies belonging to Leviev.

Establishments under the Leviev Group of Companies (LGC) have been involved in the construction of at least four Jewish colonies in the West Bank, including the controversial Ma’ali Adumin which divides occupied Jerusalem from the West Bank. The colonies are illegal under international law.

The head of the Arab League’s Central Boycott Office (CBO) in Damascus told Gulf News that the body had contacted its office in Dubai to confirm media reports of Lev Leviev’s plans to open at least two branches of his self-titled diamond boutiques in Dubai.

A Gulf News report on April 30 quoted an official from the Department of Economic Development in Dubai saying Leviev did not have a licence to operate in the emirate. The stores would have opened here through Leviev’s agent Arif Bin Khadra, who owns Levant Jewellery LLC. Levant Jewellery stores in Dubai already sell Leviev diamonds.

The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East (Adalah-NY), a Jewish-Palestinian advocacy group which is leading the international boycott campaign against Leviev, hailed the decision by Unicef.

“That Unicef would refuse further support from Leviev was never really in doubt [because of his] violations of international humanitarian law… It is absurd that Leviev was able to burnish his image through his support to Unicef,” said David Bloom, Adalah-NY spokesperson.

Mohammad Bu Sal’a, the head of the CBO, told Gulf News in a phone interview from Damascus that the body had contacted the Israel Boycott Office (IBO) in Dubai to enquire about Lev Leviev’s interests in the emirate and connections between Levant and Lev Leviev.

He said, however, that the inclusion of companies on the blacklist is the last step in a long process which includes measures to persuade the company to sever contacts with the Israeli entity or individual. “This is in the beginning stages now since we need to confirm the media reports. A final decision could be taken as late as November. It’s not a simple process.”

If blacklisted, Levant would be the first UAE-based company to be placed on the list, said Bu Sal’a.

It is unclear which of the three-tier Arab boycott of Israel Leviev or Levant could fall under due to Lev Leviev’s extensive network of companies registered in various countries.

Most Arab countries only follow the primary boycott, which prohibits citizens of Arab League states from entering business contracts with Israel or its citizens.

Mattar Al Sayyah, the head of the IBO in Dubai confirmed that the office was looking into Bin Khadra’s dealings with Leviev but said he could not comment further until the inquiry ended in mid-July.

Bin Khadra’s lawyer Bader Sulaiman sent Gulf News a document he said he presented to the IBO in Dubai, detailing Levant’s partnerships.

The document stated: “…the long established international brand Leviev, owned and controlled by KLG Jewellery LLC, would be offered to customers in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, exclusively through the outlets solely owned, controlled and managed by Levant LLC.”

Speaking to Gulf News, Sulaiman indicated that any decision taken against Levant or KLG by UAE authorities could result in legal action in the US by “the chamber of commerce and lawyers in New York.”

“[This] is a very, very serious question that they are asking now. I know they are thinking with a view of litigation but I hope it won’t go that far,” he said.

He noted however there was no way of telling who the shareholders of KLG were because it is a private company, but added it was irrelevant because it is “100 per cent US-registered.”

Gulf News has however seen records at the United States Patent and Trademark Office revealing that the Leviev brand is owned by LGC Holdings USA, LLC, a member of the Leviev Group of Companies [LGC] based in Ramat Gan, Israel.

On being asked for details about the ownership of the boutique, a Leviev public relations representative sent Gulf News a press release issued by the company to announce the opening of the store in Dubai.

The press release referred to Lev Leviev as the chairman of Leviev, quoting him commenting on the opening of his store in Dubai: “It is the next step for the evolution of our brand as Dubai is another epicentre of what we are witnessing in the world today…”

It is absurd that Leviev was able to burnish his image through his support to Unicef.”