Tag: Global Actions

Ma’ariv: Leviev’s Diamonds at the Oscars

By Gal Karniel 2/24/08 | Ma’ariv on-line (Israel)
(Translation by Adalah-NY)

Human rights organizations around the world warn against wearing Angolan diamonds at the Oscar ceremony. Again Leviev is in the headlines.

Leviev is loaning Oscar nominees jewelry for the award ceremony tonight organized by the U.S. film academy (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).

Human rights activists from Adalah-NY have asked the organizers of the 80th Oscar ceremony to respond in this matter.

In their words, many of Leviev’s spheres of operation are involved in human rights violations. They refer among other things to the trade and mining of diamonds in Angola, for which the population there pays a high price in blood.

Only last year the film “Blood Diamond” with Leonardo di Caprio was nominated for five Oscar awards. ‘Blood diamonds’, the film’s subject, have funded or continue to fund the terrible civil wars in the whole of Africa, including Angola.

This year the fear is that Oscar nominees might wear diamonds that have bypassed the “Kimberley Process” designed to prevent the trade of blood diamonds.

According to the diamond industry’s annual report, the system succeeds in identifying only 89% of diamonds mined in Angola that were involved in human rights violations. This means that upwards of one million carat’s worth of diamonds per year come out of Angola onto the free market.

According to Adalah-NY, Leviev is directly involved in immoral mining of these diamonds in Angola.

Rafael Marquez, a human rights monitor in Angola, reported “humiliation, whipping, torture, sexual exploitation, and in some cases murder” of the miners.

So far, there has been no reaction from the Academy Award ceremony organizers.

IMEMC: Dozens of protests held worldwide calling for an end to Gaza siege

by Saed Bannoura

In partnership with Popular Committee Against the Siege (PCAS), Friends of freedom and Justice-Bilin, and Gaza On My Mind, dozens of groups worldwide held protests in solidarity with the people of Gaza on Saturday February 23rd.

Participating nations include France, UK, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Canada, USA, Russia, Romania, Scotland, Iralnd, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Morocco, Mauritania, South Africa, Algeria, Libya, Turkey, Norway, the Sudan, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Israel, West Bank and the Gaza strip.In Ramallah, in the West Bank, a candlelight vigil was held in which participants marched through the streets holding candles, ending in the central al-Manara square in downtown Ramallah. They held Palestinian flags and chanted freedom slogans, also calling for national unity among all Palestinians.Part of the protests included switching off the lights in the evening for thirty minutes in solidarity and sympathy with the besieged people of Gaza. In the Gaza Strip, electricity has been severely rationed and there are daily blackouts due to the Israeli siege.In addition, many of the protests also included delegations to the local Israeli consulate to submit a letter on behalf of besieged Gazans.

Yedioth Ahronoth: Polished Protest

By Yaniv Halili, our correspondent in New York
(Translation from Hebrew by Adalah-NY)

February 10, 2008

London and New York: Demonstrations Opposite Lev Leviev’s Jewelry Stores

“Lev Leviev’s diamonds are a crime’s best friends.” This was not the least of that which around 100 demonstrators chanted yesterday outside Lev Leviev’s diamond boutique on elite Madison Avenue in Manhattan.

The demonstration, which was organized by the American chapters of the organizations “Adalah” and “Justice in Palestine,” was designed to strike at the entrance of the Leviev boutique during an important time from a business point of view: Valentine’s Day. The demonstrators have been known to call out to customers, telling them not to buy jewelry for their wives on Valentine’s Day, which will take place on Thursday.

This is the first initiative of this type in New York. Until now, human rights organizations were satisfied with demonstrations against the government of Israel, opposite the Israeli consulate in that city and opposite the UN. Now, two of the groups are taking the protest a step further, in their readiness to cause financial damage to Leviev, the elite jewelry store owned by the Israeli businessman.

The strategy: maintaining a boisterous demonstration outside the boutique and distributing propaganda pamphlets with details chosen by the organizations.

“The crimes that Leviev has carried out are in every place in the world.” Says Issa Mikel, head of the New York chapter of Adalah. He said that the demonstration was not merely focused on “what Leviev has done in the territories.” “Customers of Leviev in New York need to know that he is involved in the construction of four different settlements in the territories including Maale Adumim and Har Homa. People need to know that he is also involved in activity with the corrupt government in Angola and that his company is violating building laws and union labor laws in New York.”

“We want his customers on Madison Avenue to know where Leviev gets his money from and why it is immoral to buy from him.”

Organizers of the demonstration have never worked together with partners across the sea: at the same time as the demonstration in New York yesterday, there was an identical demonstration in London, outside of the Leviev boutique on exclusive Bond Street. The demonstrators in the two countries held identical signs and worked together in order to intensify the boisterous protest.

Protesters Blockade Israeli State Owned Company

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press contact:
07986 764432
07745 817822
thewallmustfall@riseup.net

11 February 2007

From around 3pm today Palestine solidarity demonstrators have been blockading Carmel Agrexco’s U.K headquarters in Swallowfield Way, Hayes, Middlesex to highlight the company’s human rights record in occupied Palestine.

Protesters were met with violent assaults by Agrexco security guards who smashed a video camera.

Two protesters were detained by police and searched under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act before being released.

A group of demonstrators have locked to the gates (used arm tubes and super glue) to prevent lorries from high street companies such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s from entering the premises to load up on flowers and vegetables grown in occupied Palestine. Carmel is the largest importer of fruit, vegetables and flowers from the West Bank, Palestine. It is believed that they are in breach of the International Criminal Court Act 2001.

The protest is part of a week of action against Carmel called for by the Boycott Israeli Goods campaign (http://www.bigcampaign.org) against the import of Valentines’ Day flowers from Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. The run up to Valentines day is one of the busiest periods of the year for the company. Within the last week there has been a blockade of a Carmel depot in Belgium and local actions occurring around Britain to coincide with the week of action.

Today’s blockade aims to draw attention to this company’s complicity, in murder, theft and damage of occupied land, collective punishment, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, and other breaches of International Law.

Notes For Journalists

Carmel is complicit in war crimes under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 (ICC Act). They import fresh produce originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories.

The purpose of the protest is to highlight Agrexco’s illegal activity in court.

The action follows a legal warning letter to Carmel stating clearly why they are in breach of the law.

The action took place at Agrexco UK, Swallowfield Way, Hayes, Middlesex, Israel’s largest importer of agricultural produce into the European Union. It is 50% Israeli State owned.

Before taking part in the blockade, many of the protesters had witnessed first hand the suffering of Palestinians under Israeli military occupation.

This follows from actions of 11th November 2004, when Palestine-Solidarity protesters from London and Brighton were arrested after taking part in non-violent blockades outside the same company and 30 August 2006, When demonstrators blockaded the company for 11 hours and no arrests were made.

In September 2005, a Judge ruled that Agrexco (UK) must prove that their business is lawful. The acquittal of the seven activists before they were able to present their defence meant that the court did not have to rule on the legality of Agrexco-Carmel’s involvement in the supply of produce from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

In September 2006 protesters blockaded the company again, Carmel refused to have demonstrators arrested because this would have lead to another embarrassing court appearance where their business methods would have been investigated by a British court of law.

Links:

Photos of the last blockade
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/349440.html

Text of letter sent to Carmel Agrexco
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2006/08/347361.html

Report on Carmel’s Involvement in the Jordan Valley:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/09/322537.html

Press release from previous trial (with links):
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/01/331851.html

War on Want’s Report –“Profiting from the Occupation”:
http://www.waronwant.org/?lid=12671

Adalah-NY: New York & London protesters call for Valentine’s boycott of Leviev over Israeli Settlements

For the original article, click here.

New York, NY, Feb 9, 2008 – Forty-five protesters called on Madison Avenue shoppers to boycott the jewelry store of Israeli billionaire and settlement magnate Lev Leviev this Saturday, the last major shopping day before Valentine’s Day. The protest was the seventh organized by the New York activist group Adalah-NY since Leviev’s store opened in mid-November.

Londoners also joined the campaign to boycott Leviev, with 25 human rights activists picketing outside Leviev’s Old Bond St. store Saturday. The protesters in New York and London oppose Leviev’s construction of Israeli settlements on Occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law, as well as his abuse of marginalized communities in Angola, where he mines diamonds, and in New York City where he develops real estate.

Facing the shop window at LEVIEV New York which was emblazoned with the words “Celebrate Love with Leviev” in pink, the New York protesters carried red, heart-shaped signs saying “Settlements are Heartless,” “Have a Heart Leviev” and “Won’t You be Just.” Protesters sang a parody, vaudeville-style version of “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend,” including the lyrics:

“Lev grows bold,
With billions sold,
And Palestine starves while you spend,”

“No matter what they say,
Apartheid’s the endgame,
Lev’s diamonds are a crime’s best friend.”

In an assertion of Palestinian identity in defiance of Israeli efforts to destroy their culture, the Palestine Liberation Dance Troupe performed the Palestinian folkdance dabkeh, including fellahi wedding dances. They danced to traditional Palestinian wedding songs celebrating love including, “Ya Zareef Atool” and “Dalouna.”

The protesters performed a racy parody of “The Dating Game” entitled “The One Date Solution, for those who want to settle”, featuring a contestant named Lev who was wooed by three other contestants – a pro-Israel legal scholar and author of the book “The Case for Ethnic Cleansing” named Alana; the daughter of a repressive African dictator with extensive diamond holdings; and Lev’s spurned ex-Brooklyn real estate partner. In response to a criticism of his human rights record from one contestant, Lev explained, “Lev means never having to say you’re sorry.” But “The Dating Game” ended before Lev was able to choose a date because the audience voted Lev out of New York City and Palestine. Also displayed at the protest was a six foot JDate profile for Leviev which noted, among other things, “In my free time, I enjoy: Exploitation, Profiteering, Union-Busting, and Macrame.”

An Adalah-NY representative tried to deliver a three foot by two foot heart-shaped valentine to the store for Leviev. The valentine featured photos from Palestinian villages like Bil’in and Jayyous where Leviev’s companies are building Israeli settlements, and hand-written messages from protesters like “Stop the Land Theft”, “Jews say no to apartheid,” and “Where’s the love Lev?” However, store staff refused to accept the valentine, saying that Adalah-NY should mail it to Leviev.

In London, 25 demonstrators from Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine, together with support from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the Wall and Jews for Justice for Palestinians held a Valentine’s Day protest outside the jewelry shop Leviev in normally sedate Old Bond Street London, holding placards, and leafleting to curious passers by. The posters highlighted Leviev’s settlement construction in Bil’in and Jayyous, and included the violence of uprooting olive trees and armed soldiers’ assaults against Palestinian farmers.

Click here for NY demonstration photos.

Adalah-NY:
justiceme@gmail.com
http://www.mideastjustice.org