After letters from Adalah-NY to Eight Stars, Leviev Removes Celebrity Photos

New York, NY, December 19, 2008 - Following complaints by at least four major Hollywood stars whose photos were posted on Israel diamond mogul Lev Leviev's website, Leviev staff removed the entire celebrity photo section from his website www.leviev.com this week. The photos' removal came after Adalah-NY and Jews Against the Occupation-NYC sent letters to and spoke with representatives for Salma Hayek, Halle Berry, Drew Barrymore, Brooke Shields, Andie MacDowell, Lucy Liu, Whitney Houston and Sharon Stone, all of whose names and photos, apparently wearing Leviev jewelry, were featured in a Celebrity section of Leviev's website.

After learning of Leviev's involvement in rights abuses in Palestine and Southern Africa, representatives of four of the stars told Adalah-NY that they had contacted Leviev to have the stars' photos removed. Subsequently, on Monday, December 15th, Leviev staff removed the entire Celebrity photo section of the website. Back in October, Oxfam Ambassador Kristin Davis' photo was removed from Leviev's website.

Ethan Heitner from Adalah-NY explained, "We are gratified that these stars have joined UNICEF, Oxfam and a growing list of others who have distanced themselves from Leviev over his companies' settlement construction in violation of international law in Palestine, and rights abuses in Angola and Namibia. Some immediately expressed concern when we explained that Leviev was using their photos to whitewash his unethical business practices. Their actions show that Leviev's wealth and diamonds can't buy impunity."

From December 1st - 15th, Adalah-NY sent letters to and spoke with representatives of eight of the sixteen stars whose photos were featured on www.leviev.com - Salma Hayek, Halle Berry, Drew Barrymore, Brooke Shields, Andie MacDowell, Lucy Liu, Whitney Houston and Sharon Stone (December 8th screengrabs of their photos on the Leviev website are available on request by emailing info@adalahny.org). Adalah-NY had not yet been able to contact the other celebrities on the site - HRH Princess Michael of Kent, Ginnifer Goodwin, Katharine McPhee, Teri Hatcher, Lauren Graham, Estelle Lefebure, Zara and Dita Von Teese - before all the photos were removed.

In addition to UNICEF and Oxfam's renunciation of Leviev over rights abuses, Leviev was also dropped from the sponsor list of the star-studded Carousel of Hope Ball last October. On top of his companies' construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the Occupied West Bank in violation of international law, Leviev's companies have been accused of human rights abuses in the diamond trade in Angola and Namibia. In December, the Israeli financial journal Globes published an expose of Leviev's serious rights abuses and failure to fully comply with the Kimberley process in Angola (English translation).

Signaling growing outrage at Leviev's businesses' global rights abuses, on December 12th and 13th human rights advocates in Dubai, London and two West Bank Palestinian villages held protests against his settlement construction. According to Gulf News, the December 12th Dubai protest, unprecedented in the UAE, focused on Leviev's sale of his diamonds through Arif Bin Khadra's Levant jewelry stores in Dubai, despite a commitment by a Dubai official to ban the sale of Leviev's jewellery. In London, on December 13th, rights activists protested outside Leviev's Bond Street store. The British government is under pressure not to rent space for its new Tel Aviv embassy from Leviev. On December 12th in the West Bank, the villages of Bil'in and Jayyous protested the construction by Leviev's companies of settlements and the construction of Israel's wall on those villages' land. Both Bil'in and Jayyous have been devastated by Israel's seizure of at least half the villages' agricultural land for settlement construction, despite hundreds of nonviolent protests.

Adalah-NY will hold yet another protest on Saturday, December 20th at 1:30 PM at Leviev's Madison Avenue store, with participants singing parody holiday carols highlighting Leviev's rights abuses.

Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East
Media Contacts:
Ethan Heitner (347) 651 8853
Lubna Ka'aabneh: (917) 573 2566

New York & London protesters call for Valentine's boycott of Leviev over Israeli Settlements

London joined New York in the campaign to boycott Leviev
By Adalah-NY

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.

NY photos: http://tinyurl.com/2jdjac
NY protest video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZxfcJU3thI

London joins the Campaign to Boycott Lev Leviev!

Rate the video at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrEb4DxBzIk

Adalah-NY: Film screened in front of Leviev New York about Palestinian village protesting Leviev's settlements.

Twenty-five New York protesters and dozens of Madison Avenue passers-by braved sub-freezing temperatures Monday evening to watch the award winning documentary "Bil'in My Love" on the sidewalk 20 feet from the Madison Avenue jewelry store of Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev. Leviev's company Danya Cebus has been building the Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East on the land of the West Bank village of Bil'in, threatening the village's survival. The film, by Israeli director Shai Pollak, documents the first two years of Bil'in's three year creative, nonviolent struggle to save its land from Israel's wall and Leviev's settlements.

Adalah-NY spokesperson Ethan Heitner explained, "The screening tonight brought images of the impacts of Leviev's violations of international law in Palestine and the courageous resistance of his victims to his Manhattan doorstep, in one of wealthiest neighborhoods in the world." The protest, organized by the New York activist group Adalah-NY and calling for a boycott of Leviev, was the sixth held at LEVIEV New York since the store opened in November.

"Bil'in My Love," won Best Documentary at the 2006 Jerusalem Film Festival, and a special award at the 2006 Rotterdam film festival. On the US holiday honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., hundreds of passers-by received flyers with photos juxtaposing the Palestinian struggle for freedom with the struggle against Apartheid South Africa and the US civil rights struggle of African-Americans.

The Israeli military has injured over 800 Israeli, Palestinian and international protesters in more than 200 demonstrations in Bil'in over three years. 49 Bil'in residents, including some protest leaders, have been arrested. Some spent months in prison. The flyer quoted Mohammed Khatib from Bil'in's Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, and Sharif Omar of Jayyous' Land Defense Committee explaining that, "We are engaged in a struggle for justice, for our freedom - indeed, for our very lives . . . . Leviev is destroying the olive groves and farms that have sustained our villages for centuries, and is profiting from human rights abuses."

In addition to Mattityahu East, Leviev's company Danya Cebus is building homes in the illegal settlements of Har Homa and Maale Adumim, surrounding East Jerusalem. Leviev's company Leader is building the settlement of Zufim on the land of the village of Jayyous, the site of another long Palestinian nonviolent campaign. Leviev has been a major donor to the Land Redemption Fund, an Israeli organization that uses dubious means to secure Palestinian land to expand settlements. All Israeli settlements are widely deemed illegal under international law.

Dor Energy, a company which is 26% owned by Leviev's company Africa Israel and is the monopoly fuel supplier to the Gaza Strip, has plunged Gaza City into darkness by participating in a cut of the fuel supply to Gaza with the Israeli government. In Angola, where Leviev mines many of his diamonds, a security firm he employs has been accused of brutal human rights abuses against Angolans. In New York City, Leviev, along with his former New York business partner Shaya Boymelgreen, was the target of a campaign by the ACORN and the Laborers Union in Brooklyn for their use of underpaid non-union labor to carry out sub-standard development projects.

Leviev has recently been caught up in a controversy-covered by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Ma'ariv and The Chronicle of Philanthropy-over media reports that he supports the charity Oxfam. Oxfam has reviewed its records and denies these claims, noting that Oxfam refuses donations from businesses that violate international law.

Issa Mikel of Adalah-NY noted that, "We'll be back at LEVIEV New York with a bigger protest on Saturday, February 9 to tell New York shoppers that buying Leviev's jewelry for Valentine's Day supports the abuse of marginalized communities in Palestine, Angola, and right here in New York City."

Jan. 21 photos

[Via ISM] Abdullah Abu Rahme from the Popular Committee of Bil'in was shot in the head by a rubber-coated steel bullet yesterday at the weekly Bil'in demonstration. He is now recovering and can be reached at 0547258210. You can watch the video or read the report here:

On Friday, January 11th, villagers of Bil'in were joined by around 70 Israeli, international, and other Palestinian Human Rights activists in a protest against the Annexation Wall. In Bil'in, the wall is stealing more than 60% of village land, and even the Israeli Supreme Court said in a recent decision that the route of the wall was not planned for military reasons, but for land.

In that September 4th Supreme Court decision, the Wall was ordered to be taken down and the route redrawn. This was a court victory for the joint non-violent struggle, but has yet to be reflected with facts on the ground. The wall is still standing, and in fact recently settlers attempted to place new caravans on village land.

The demonstration began as a march towards the gate in the Wall, where soldiers were standing with guns drawn. At the front of the march was the banner, "LEVIEV TURNS THESE ROCKS OF APARTHEID INTO DIAMONDS" in reference to the diamond mogul Lev Leviev, protesting his extensive involvement in the construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Soldiers let off a barrage of flash bombs when people got close. Flash bombs are similar to sound bombs, but they explode much sooner and are made of metal instead of plastic, so they weigh a lot more. They are generally used to injure people, where as normal sounds bombs mostly disorient people. A few demonstrators were hit by the flying metal objects, but none seriously injured.

After about an hour people began to move back towards the village, the soldiers used this chance to shoot off cannister after cannister of tear gas. One man was taken away on a stretcher from his exposure to the gas. Activists stood on the opposite hill and regrouped while soldiers continued to shoot gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Twice the army drove up the street to try and grab people but were stopped by makeshift stone roadblocks people built.

Near the end of the demonstration, army snipers shot Bil'in Popular Committee member Abdullah Abu Rahme in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet. Abdullah was also one of the activists hospitalized a week ago when settlers attacked a group of Palestinians who were non-violently protesting the placement of more caravans on their land. After the soldier shot Abdullah, he dances a bit and cheers, telling his comrades-in-arms that he "got one in the head!"

New York Human Rights Carolers Debut Songs Protesting Lev Leviev's Israeli Settlements

New York, NY, Dec 22 - Fifty New York human rights carolers sang parodies of holiday tunes today in front of LEVIEV New York to protest Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev's destruction of communities in Palestine, Angola and in New York City. This was the fourth protest at Leviev's Madison Avenue jewelry store since its gala opening on November 13.

A diverse group of enthusiastic participants sang loud and creative versions of 11 traditional holiday songs. Carolers serenaded upscale Madison Avenue shoppers and New York City police with the debut performance of "I Made a Little Settlement" to the tune of "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel":

"Apartments for Jews only, Discrimination, sure!

He thinks Palestine's the problem, and Apartheid is the cure!"

"Oh boycott boycott boycott, Don't buy Leviev today

Funds crime with all that profit, Who needs diamonds anyway?"

Leviev's companies are currently involved in building homes in at least four Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. All Israeli settlements violate international law according to a broad international consensus. Two weeks ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice specifically criticized Israel's plans for construction in Har Homa, one settlement where a Leviev company is contracted to build. In Angola where he mines many of his diamonds, a security firm working for Leviev was accused of physically abusing workers. In New York City, his developments with his ex-partner Shaya Boymelgreen have come under attack from the community group ACORN and the Laborers' Union.

Riham Barghouti of Adalah-NY commented, "Because Leviev has made it impossible for many Palestinians to live normal lives and to celebrate the holidays of Eid Al Adha and Christmas this month, we will spoil his holidays and continue our campaign against his human rights abuses." The protest closed with a rousing song to the tune of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer":

"Then one cold November eve, Leviev came to town

He put a store here in New York, But we will shut him down!"

"Leviev your crimes are showing, Your deeds are getting hard to hide

No matter what you call it, We say NO to apartheid!"

In response to popular demand after today's caroling debut, the Palestine Liberation Singing Troupe is considering an encore Madison Avenue performance of their hit holiday songs on Saturday, Dec. 29.

Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East: www.mideastjustice.org

Today's song lyrics:
http://tinyurl.com/2fvxfu

A song video from today:
http://tinyurl.com/2f5fvp

Downloadable photos from today:
http://tinyurl.com/2b66x4

Summary of information from today:
http://tinyurl.com/28hlcy

NYC Rights Activists Escalate Protests Against Leviev Over Palestine Land-Grab (first protest here!).

The Madison Ave jewelry store LEVIEV NY was again the site of protests by human rights activists.

In a loud, festive protest this evening, 40 New Yorkers chanted, danced Palestinian Dabka and performed street theater. Protesters were faced by a cordon of police officer who leaned against the LEVIEV store windows, blocking any view of the expensive jewelry in the showcase. No customers entered the store during the hour and a half protest...Read on!

Lev Leviev, a diamond dealer and one of Israel's richest men, faced protests from Palestinian rights advocates in New York Tuesday evening. The protesters were challenging Leviev's funding of Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land in contravention of international law.

Glitterati at Leviev's New York Gala Stunned by Palestinian Rights Protest

Over 100 well-dressed, well-heeled New Yorkers attending the invitation-only opening of diamond mogul Lev Leviev's Madison Avenue jewelry store this evening appeared stunned and aghast to find their evening derailed by a noisy protest against Leviev's construction of illegal West Bank settlements. Gala attendees set down their champagne glasses and gathered by windows to view the signs and Palestinian flags, and hear protesters' chants.

30 New York City human rights activists chanted, "You're glitz, you're glam, you're stealing Palestinian land.", and "All your diamonds cannot hide, your support for Apartheid." Protesters called on New York City's upscale residents to boycott Leviev's diamonds. Disconcerted attendees hastily exited to their limousines to loud chants of, "Occupation is a drag, just say no to your gift bag."

Lev Leviev is one of Israel's richest men. He built his enormous fortune trading in diamonds with Apartheid-era South Africa. His company now buys diamonds from the repressive Angolan government. Leviev uses profits from diamond sales to fuel the conflict in Palestine and Israel by funding the construction of suburban developments for Israeli settlers on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank, undermining the prospects for Middle East peace, and threatening farmers' ability to survive and remain in their homes. Leviev's diamonds are "conflict diamonds" in a broad sense of the term, funding repression in Angola and violations of international law in Palestine.

Leviev and his former US partner Shaya Boymlegreen have also angered New Yorkers with their abusive local developments schemes. Leviev has invested $1 billion in real estate in New York City over the last year. In New York City, Leviev and Boymelgreen have employed underpaid, non-union workers in hazardous conditions and violated housing codes to construct luxury apartments that displace low-income and moderate-income residents in Brooklyn, provoking local branches of the Laborer's International Union and ACORN to launch a campaign against these abuses (www.shayaiscoming.org). Brooklynites remain concerned that Leviev and Boymelgreen are key developers in the planned Gowanus Village project.

Leviev's real estate empire in Israel is building homes for Israelis in the West Bank settlements of Mattityahu East and Zufim, according to Gadi Algazi in the August, 2006 Le Monde Diplomatique, and in Maale Adumim and Har Homa, according to The Jerusalem Post. He has also built homes in the settlement of Ariel. All the settlements in which Leviev has built homes seize vital Palestinian water and agricultural resources and carve the West Bank into disconnected Bantustans, destroying hopes for a viable Palestinian state. All Israeli settlements built in the Occupied Palestinian Territories violate international law.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth also reported on January 28, 2004 that Leviev is a primary donor to the Israeli organization the Land Redemption Fund, which allegedly uses fraud and intimidation to extort land from Palestinian farmers for Israeli settlement. While Leviev donates to UNICEF and OXFAM, 50% of families in the farming village of Jayyous are now on food aid, according to the Financial Times, because they are being choked by Leviev's expansion of the all-Jewish settlement of Zufim. Leveiv and Boymlegreen are building the settlement of Mattityahu East on the village of Bil'in's land. Bil'in has earned international acclaim for its three year campaign of nonviolent protest against the construction of settlements and Israel's wall on their farmland.

"Leviev's new Manhattan store hides the devastating use of its owner's fortune underneath shimmering facets of polished diamonds. As long as Lev Leviev violates international law by building settlements in the West Bank and attacks New York's communities with invasive luxury development, there can be no business as usual for him," said Daniel Lang/Levitsky of Jews Against the Occupation/NYC. Adalah-NY will hold a second protest at Leviev's 700 Madison Avenue jewelry store on Tuesday November 20 from 4:30 – 6:00 PM.

For more info: Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East: www.mideastjustice.org

See more photos of the protest here!