Possible boycott victory in Dubai

 

Israeli jeweller has no trade
licence to open shop in Dubai

By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter

Dubai: No trade licence has been granted to open Israeli jewellery
store Leviev in Dubai contrary to claims by Leviev and its agent in
Dubai, said a top official at the Department of Economic Development.

"We are aware of these reports and have not granted a trade licence
to any business of this name. If such an application does come to us
we will deal with it accordingly," Ali Ebrahim, Deputy Director
General for Executive Affairs in Dubai, told Gulf News.

Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev's self-titled diamond boutique
recently issued a press release announcing plans to open two stores
in Dubai through its Moroccan-Palestinian agent Arif Bin Khadra. Lev,
an Uzbek-Israeli, is accused of profiteering from building Jewish
colonies on occupied Palestinian land, illegal under international
law.

Ebrahim said Israeli citizens were not allowed to operate in Dubai,
adding that "precautionary measures" are taken to ensure that they do
not. He added that Israeli businesses would be prevented from
operating in Dubai through non-Israeli partners.

"There are no loopholes," he said. "We check backgrounds of
businesses that apply".

Jewish and Palestinian advocacy groups have been campaigning against
Leviev's alleged plans to open in Dubai.

Jewish colony activities

Eisa Mikel, a spokesperson for The Coalition for Justice in the
Middle East (Adalah), a Jewish-Palestinian advocacy group leading the
campaign against Leviev, told Gulf News that Lev Leviev profits
directly from the building of colonies on Palestinian land in the
West Bank, where his companies are active in at least four colonies.

Dania Cebus, a subsidiary of Lev's Africa-Israel Investments, is
alleged to be involved in the construction of the colony of Har Homa
between occupied Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Ma'ale Adumin, which
surrounds occupied East Jerusalem, Zufim, built on the village of
Jayyous, and Ariel, built in 1978 on a number of former Palestinian
villages.

Adalah and New York-based Jews Against the Occupation issued a
statement calling for the UAE to "join the growing international
campaign to boycott Lev Leviev's companies due to their construction
of Israeli colonies".

Mikel said the momentum against Leviev has been growing, citing a
letter Adalah received from charity organisation Oxfam recently in
which the group distanced itself from the Israeli businessman
following media reports of donations made to the group by Lev.

Gulf News' requests for an interview with a Leviev representative
were unanswered by the time of going to print, but according to the
Leviev press release, the boutiques will open in Dubai Mall and the
Atlantis Hotel in Palm Jumeirah this year.

The Emaar Malls Group, which is developing the Dubai Mall, would not
comment on the issue but a spokesperson from the Atlantis Hotel
confirmed to Gulf News that the lobby of the hotel will include a
Leviev boutique.

Leviev's agent, Bin Khadra, first brought Leviev diamonds to the UAE
in March this year with the opening of his store Levant Jewellery in
the Mina Al Salam hotel. He told Gulf News that the franchise in the
Dubai Mall and the Atlantis Hotel would be wholly owned by him.

Asked if he was aware of the activities of Lev Leviev's companies in
the West Bank, Bin Khadra said that he had heard of Leviev's
practices in the West Bank but had seen no proof of the allegations,
adding that they were not a major concern because "such questions are
not asked in the diamond business". Dubai, he said, was an apolitical
and international city that needed global brands such as Leviev.
"What we have learned here is that you don't have to talk about
politics or religion if you're doing business," he said.

Bin Khadra added that he knows of other major Dubai-based jewellers
who were interested in bringing Leviev to the UAE. "If we hadn't
brought Leviev, someone else would have".

Lev Leviev's activities in one colony in particular have raised
concerns from Palestinian activists. Ma'ale Adumin is the largest and
most controversial of Israel's 126 colonies in the West Bank.

The strategic colony of 33,000 Jewish residents has expanded deep
into the occupied territory, in effect splitting the northern and
southern West Bank into half, and encircling occupied East Jerusalem,
which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

Israel's hold on and continuing expansion of Ma'ale Adumin is often
cited by its critics as proof of the lack of a serious commitment to
a settlement to the conflict on Israel's part.

Ardent Zionist

Mikel noted that Lev's activities in the colonies are driven by his
ideological leanings.

Said to be an ardent Zionist, Lev told an Israeli paper recently that
the status of occupied Jerusalem was non-negotiable.

"For me, Israel, [occupied] Jerusalem and Haifa are all the same. So
are the [Syrian] Golan Heights," he told the paper. "To decide the
future of [occupied] Jerusalem? It belongs to the Jewish people. What
is there to decide? [occupied] Jerusalem is not a topic for
discussion."

We are aware of these reports and have not granted a trade licence to
any business of this name. If such an application does come to us we
will deal with it accordingly."

Plans to open clothing chain dropped
Dubai: The UAE-based family business that was in talks to bring an
Israeli clothing chain to Dubai dropped plans to do so after the
story surfaced in the Israeli media, the chain's owner told Gulf News.

In a phone interview from Tel Aviv in June last year, Avi Malka, CEO
and Chairman of ML, a plus-size clothing chain, confirmed Israeli
media reports that a UAE business family was interested in bringing
the Israeli chain to Dubai, but said that it backed out in fear of
arousing controversy at home.

"The UAE family was going to import the clothes from our franchisee
in France, but told us they would reconsider once it was publicised
in the media," said Avi Malka.

It is illegal for Israeli businesses and individuals to operate in
the UAE as per the Arab League's primary boycott of Israel. Malka
said that registering the store as a French company would act as a
loophole to open in Dubai.

He refused to name the family, saying it would jeopardise the
business potential between the two parties in the future. The story
has since been circulating via email in the UAE. Gulf News readers
have also written to protest the alleged move.

Malka said he was keen on doing business in Dubai, "not for money,
but to make peace through business". ML's clothes, according to
Malka, are manufactured in Israel. The company also has outlets in
Jewish colonies built on occupied land, such as the illegal Ma'ale
Adumin.