Leviev in Dubai

I have received this confidential email (it is self-explanatory) and the writer wants his name withheld: " I would like to draw your attention to the terrible thing that is happening at Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. As you know, there was a big storm in the summer, when it became known that Leviev was due to open at diamonds store at the hotel.

The Dubai Municipality themselves said that there would be no way that Leviev could open a store in the UAE, because it is an Arab country and a Muslim country that supports our brothers and sisters in Palestine. Sadly, Leviev has gone ahead and opened the store. It is right next to the main lobby, and everybody who goes through to the shopping area walks right passed it.

The store is called 'Levant' but it is clear Leviev store. It uses the same lettering and has the locations of the other shops - Moscow, London, New York - on the door. All the display cases in the window are marked Leviev, and there is even a photo of the man behind the counter. You can image what this does to our feelings. Today, I learned that Lev Leviev has been invited as a VIP guest to the grand opening of Atlantis this weekend, when they will hold a big party in Dubai.

The whole Palm island will be closed off by security, so VIPs can mingle and watch the fireworks. I cannot believe that such a man will be a guest of Dubai.. I work for a company that works for the Atlantis, so please do not make my name public. However, anything you can do to make people aware of this problem would be very good. I do not believe that the people of Dubai would want this and it is only pressure from the hotel which is not making this fact known."


My own comment follows:


The Atlantis Hotel was opened in a party costing $20 million (watch it on the BBC site if you must). Rather obscene, I would say, when millions of people, including the Palestinians of Gaza, cannot find enough food to eat or fuel to keep warm and run their hospitals and schools. Nero fiddling while Rome is burning.


OVER AND ABOVE ALL THE ABOVE THE HOTEL COSTED TO BUILD US$1,500,00,000.—(ONE AND A HALF BILLION DOLARS) AND THE PRICE PER ROOM PER NIGHT IS ONLY US$250,000.---!!!

From As'ad AbuKhalil's blog

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Charities and celebs seek distance from controversial Israeli settlement-builder

For charity & stars, new book Hollywood Pinups tainted by diamond mogul Lev Leviev

Charities and celebs seek distance from controversial Israeli settlement-builder

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY, October 27, 2008 – The October 28 release of the celebrity portrait book Hollywood Pinups by photographer Timothy White is being marred by controversy, as a charity and stars distance themselves from Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev who provided the jewelry worn by stars in the book. Oxfam America is named in the book as recipient of White's book sales proceeds, and on the page immediately before, Leviev is thanked for his "support and contribution" to the book. In response, Oxfam America, which had renounced Leviev in January, has again decried Leviev's settlement construction and diamond mining practices, and announced that it will be informing others of "the deliberate strategy of Leviev Diamonds to connect itself with unwitting charities and celebrities." In June, UNICEF renounced all connections with Leviev.

Eighteen of twenty-three celebrity women in the book wore Leviev's diamonds. The New York rights coalition Adalah-NY has contacted many - Susan Sarandon, Tea Leoni, Felicity Huffman, Vanessa Williams, Kate Hudson, Kate Walsh, Molly Sims, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Gina Gershon - and asked them to renounce all connections with Leviev.

Nicole Caruso, a Vice President in New York for WKT Public Relations, which represents Tea Leoni, Kate Walsh, Felicity Huffman, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Melissa George, told a representative of Adalah-NY on Friday by phone that WKT had informed Leviev's representatives that they cannot use the names of the stars represented by their firm. Adalah-NY also notes that a photo of Oxfam "Ambassador" Kristin Davis wearing Leviev's jewelry has been removed from Leviev's website. Susan Sarandon, who was previously embroiled in controversy after attending the opening of Leviev's New York jewelry store despite a protest, wrote the book's foreward, but did not wear Leviev's diamonds in her photo in Hollywood Pinups.

Lubna Ka'aabneh of Adalah-NY explained, "We don't believe that the stars who wore Leviev's diamonds knew that the diamonds were tainted by human rights violations in Palestine and Angola. Now that they do, we expect them to follow Oxfam and UNICEF's lead, by forbidding Leviev from using their names and photos." In a related development, after contacts from Adalah-NY, Leviev was removed from the list of previously announced sponsors of the Children's Diabetes Foundation's (CDF) star-studded Carousel of Hope Ball held last Saturday in Beverly Hills. CDF said this did not represent a judgement on the merits of Adalah-NY's claims about Leviev (see related press release).

In January, Adalah-NY informed Oxfam that Leviev was touting support for the organization. Oxfam responded by stating that it had not received support from Leviev, and that it does not accept support from individuals who violate international law. But Leviev's claims of links to Oxfam continued.

In an October 21 statement on Hollywood Pinups, Adrienne Smith, an Oxfam America spokesperson in Boston, explained, "At some point in the process, Leviev Diamonds offered to provide diamonds for some of the photo shoots, but Oxfam was not aware of this. Just a few weeks ago, Adalah-NY tipped us off to the fact that Leviev Diamonds were promoting their inclusion in the book and using this to claim to be Oxfam supporters… Oxfam reiterates our policy that we are not and never will be partners or beneficiaries of Leviev because of both his mining practices and his support of Israeli settlements on Occupied Palestinian Lands which is in contravention of International Law and a major obstacle in the road to peace… Oxfam is disturbed to find ourselves used in this way and we intend to be proactive in informing those in our community about the deliberate strategy of Leviev Diamonds to connect itself with unwitting charities and celebrities."

Leviev's LA-based PR firm BluPRint has a case study about Leviev on their website explaining their strategy of "engaging the Hollywood and celebrity community," and aiding "in Leviev's charity alliances and event partnerships to maximize the brand recognition and partnering opportunities in the US." Alexis Stern of Adalah-NY explained that, "The developments with CDF, Oxfam, UNICEF, and various stars signal the collapse of Leviev and BluPRint's cynical public relations strategy. No amount of deception, branding and PR can make a businesses' human rights abuses acceptable."

Leviev's companies Africa Israel and Leader have recently built homes in at least four Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In 2007, New York Magazine reported that Angolan security companies employed by Leviev were accused of torture, sexual abuse and even murdering Angolans. In Namibia Leviev recently fired 222 striking diamond polishers. And in Brooklyn and at the Apthorp in Manhattan, Leviev's construction of luxury apartments threatens to displace low- and moderate-income residents.

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UNICEF Rejects Support From Israeli Billionaire Known for Constructing Settlements on Palestinian Lands

Diamond Mogul, Lev Leviev, Facing Increasing Pressure for Human Rights Violations
By Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East
Media Contact: media@adalahny.org

New York, NY, June 19, 2008 – A senior advisor to UNICEF’s Director said in a letter today that UNICEF will reject all partnerships with, or financial support from, Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev. Leviev had previously provided UNICEF with support by sponsoring fundraising events in France. Leviev’s past support for UNICEF is featured in a number of places on his company’s website (www.leviev.com).

UNICEF’s rejection of Leviev’s support followed meetings with Adalah-NY, letters from organizations and Palestinian communities advocating a boycott of Leviev’s companies, and a visit by UNICEF officials to Jayyous, one of the Palestinian communities where a Leviev company is building Israeli settlements. Leviev’s diamond-mining companies in Angola have also been accused of serious human rights abuses.

Abdullah Abu Rahme, a community leader from the West Bank village of Bil’in, said, “We welcome UNICEF’s decision to hold one of the companies that has been building Mattityahu East settlement accountable for attempting to destroy our community. Our village has engaged in a three and a half year nonviolent campaign to save our land, and an international boycott is an important complement to our weekly protests. This is a victory, but we need many more like it.” Leviev’s companies have also recently built homes in the settlements of Maale Adumim and Har Homa, both of which cut off East Jerusalem from the West Bank.

A June 19 letter to Adalah-NY from Chris De Bono, senior communications advisor to UNICEF’s Executive Director, stated: “Yesterday we confirmed that UNICEF has concluded that it will not consider partnerships - direct or indirect - with Mr. Lev Leviev or any of his corporate entities, and will not accept financial or other support that we know is from him or his corporate entities. The concerned parts of the UNICEF family, including our national committees, have been advised of this.” (See the full UNICEF letter: adalahny.org/images/stories/unicef-leviev.pdf) The letter followed a June 18th meeting at UNICEF’s New York headquarters with representatives from Adalah-NY.

In a previous March 25, 2008 letter to Adalah-NY, UNICEF explained that Leviev had indirectly supported UNICEF three times, “each time as a sponsor of fundraising activities organized by the French magazine Gala in support of UNICEF.” In the same letter UNICEF expressed its support for UN resolutions stating that Israeli settlements violate international law. Then in April, UNICEF received letters demanding that it reject all support from Leviev from Jewish Voice for Peace, Defence for Children International-Palestine, the villages of Jayyous and Bil’in, The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign, and Jews Against the Occupation.

The Mayor of the West Bank village of Jayyous, Mohammed Taher Jaber, commented: “UNICEF officials visited us in May and saw the terrible impacts on our children of the theft of our farmland for the expansion of Zufim settlement by Leviev’s company Leader. We thank UNICEF for upholding international law, and supporting children’s rights, and we call on other organizations to do the same.”

When contacted by Adalah-NY in January, Oxfam International announced publicly that it had not received support from Leviev, contrary to press reports and information on one of Leviev’s websites, and that it would not accept his support in the future due to Leviev’s companies’ settlement construction. Dubai has also recently announced that it would not allow Leviev to open planned jewelry stores in the Emirate following boycott calls issued by Adalah-NY and Palestinian communities.

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Leviev in Dubai - What's Up With That?

Settlement Financer in Dubai

By Mohammad Sabry IOL Staff

A decision to allow Israeli billionaire
and diamond magnate Lev Leviev,
notorious for funding settlement
construction in the occupied
Palestinian lands, to open jewelry stores
in Dubai has shocked pro-Palestine
advocates.

"We want people to put pressure on
Lev Leviev to stop funding settlement
building in the Palestinian lands,"
Issa Ayoub, spokesman for the
Coalition for Justice in the Middle East
(Adalah-NY), told IslamOnline.net over
the phone from New York.

Lev Leviev Diamonds has won approval

from the government of Dubai to open two jewelry stores this year.

One of the stores will in the Burj Dubai Mall, the world's biggest mall,
under the world's tallest building.

The other will be located in the lobby of the new Atlantis hotel resort on
the Jumeirah Palm Island, currently scheduled to open in September 2008.

The diamond magnate, who has served in the Israeli army, already has
a concession in Levant Jewellers which opened in the lobby of
al-Qasr Hotel in the Madinat Jumeirah area of Dubai in March.

Leviev, ranked 210 among the world's richest people, is a major
financer of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian lands.

His company Danya Cebus, a subsidiary of Africa-Israel,
subcontracted the building of Mattityahu East settlement
on the land of the Palestinian village of Bil'in.

It is also build housing units in Har Homa and Maale Adumim
settlements, cutting the holy city of Al-Quds
(occupied East Jerusalem) from the West Bank.

Leviev’s company Leader is also building the settlement of
Zufim on the land of the West Bank village of Jayyous.

The Israeli billionaire is also a major contributor to the Land
Redemption Fund, a Jewish group accused of intimidation and
strong-arms tactics to secure Palestinian lands for settlement
construction.

There are more than 164 Jewish settlements in the West Bank,
eating up more than 40 percent of the occupied territory.

The international community considers all Jewish settlements
on occupied Palestinian land illegal.

Boycott

Adalah-NY, a grassroots alliance of concerned organizations and
individuals in New York formed to demand an immediate,
unconditional, and permanent end to US and US-sponsored
Israeli aggressions, is championing a boycott campaign.

"We want people to boycott Leviev to push him stop giving
money to right-wing Jewish groups," said Ayoub.

Abdullah Abu-Rahma from the Palestinian village of Bil'in said
allowing the Israeli billionaire to open stores in Dubai, a world’s
hub of Jewelry trading, would mean more support to the
Jewish settlements.

"Leviev’s companies are destroying the olive groves and farms
that have sustained our villages for centuries, and are profiting
from human rights abuses," he told IOL over the phone.

"We want all people and governments to boycott this billionaire."

Jewish and Palestinian activists have been staging rallies outside a
Leviev-owned jewelry store in New York City to protest his support
to settlement building.

The Jews Against the Occupation-NYC has urged Dubai authorities
to join an international campaign to boycott Leviev's companies.

Protests have also been staged in the Palestinian
villages of Bil'in and Jayyous.

"We say to all Arabs in the UAE that allowing this billionaire to
open stores in their country would mean that they are helping
him confiscate our lands to build settlements," said Abu-Rahma.

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Academy says not responsible for stars wearing diamonds tainted by Leviev's rights abuses

A representative for the Academy Awards said today
that the Academy has nothing to do with whether stars
at the Oscars wear jewelry provided by Lev Leviev, the
controversial Israeli settlement builder and diamond
mogul who has been accused of supporting human
rights abuses in Angola, New York City and Palestine.
Leviev is lending his jewelry to some attendees of the
80th annual Academy Awards this Sunday, according
to Warner Brothers' ExtraTV. Leviev's controversial
loan of jewelry to the stars for the Oscars is making
waves in Israel, with coverage by Maariv on-line,
the news site for Israel's second largest newspaper.

An Adalah-NY representative spoke by phone
today with Leslie Unger, Director of Communications
at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
in Beverly Hills, who said that, "We don't have anything
to do with the jewelry or fashions our presenters or guests
choose to wear." When pressed Unger said she had no
comment on the likelihood that jewelry tainted by
Leviev's rights abuses would be worn at the Oscars.

The annual Hollywood ceremony had been jeopardized
by a protracted strike of the Writers Guild, over
revenue generated by writers' online work. Ironically,
Leviev has also been at the center of labor disputes in
New York City involving unpaid wages. New York
construction workers sued Leviev and his former
US partner Shaya Bolmelgreen over withheld wages,
and, according to the Laborers Union, have complained
of dangerous work conditions, allegedly resulting in
accidents and serious injuries.

Sadly, just one year after the film Blood Diamond
was nominated for five Oscars, there is a chance that
tainted Angolan diamonds that bypass the Kimberley
Process which aims to eliminate trade in
"conflict diamonds" will be worn by stars at the Academy
Awards. According to the 2007 "Diamond Industry
Annual Review" for Angola by the watchdog organization
Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), "the Angolan
Kimberley System has no way of tracking" around
10% of Angola's "diamonds back to source." As a result,
there are "more than a million carats per year exiting
Angola… with the murkiest credentials." The company
Ascorp, which buys these diamonds and which Leviev
co-owns, is directly involved in these failings.
Furthermore, private security companies employed by
Leviev in the mining districts in northeast Angola have
been accused by Angolan human rights monitor Rafael
Marques of "humiliation, whipping, torture, sexual abuse,
and, in some cases, assassinations." Leviev has close ties
with Angola's repressive and corrupt Dos Santos regime
which has failed to hold elections since 1992.

Leviev's companies have also built homes in five
Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank in violation of international law.
The settlements that Leviev has built seize vital resources
and divide Palestinian territories into isolated enclaves,
destroying hopes for the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

Leviev became involved in a flap with the international
charity Oxfam after the New York human rights coalition
Adalah-NY contacted Oxfam on January 8 following
media reports that Oxfam had accepted support from
Leviev. In response, Oxfam stated publicly that Leviev
had never been an Oxfam donor, nor would they accept
donations from any individual who constructs settlements
in occupied territory in contravention of international
humanitarian law. Twenty days after Adalah-NY raised
the issue, an article which claimed that Leviev donated to
Oxfam was finally removed from the news site belonging
to an organization of which Leviev is the president.

After attending the gala opening of Leviev's first US
jewelry store in Manhattan, actress Susan Sarandon
was approached by Israeli, Palestinian and US human
rights organizations urging her to cut ties with the
billionaire. An open letter sent to Sarandon from the
US-based Jewish Voice for Peace noted Leviev's
alleged misdeeds in Angola, Burma, New York, and the
Occupied Palestinian Territories saying: "Leviev's strong
support of the settlements seriously compromises any
efforts at a just peace in the region. His efforts to
expropriate more lands from Palestinians, using both
financial and strong-arm tactics, greatly increase
Palestinian suffering. . . As Jews who yearn and work
for a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis, we implore
you to take a public stand against Leviev."

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Leviev asks Academy Award stars to wear diamonds tainted by human rights abuses

Lev Leviev, the Israeli settlement builder and
diamond mogul who has been accused of supporting
human rights abuses in Angola, Burma, New York City
and Palestine, is lending his jewelry to some attendees of
the 80th annual Academy Awards this Sunday.
The jewelry loan was reported by Warner Brothers ExtraTV.
Leviev has made a concerted effort to associate himself and
his businesses with global elites, but a barrage of negative
publicity related to these rights abuses has tarnished
Leviev's image, suggesting that, as NY Jewish Week
wrote recently, "For Leviev, All that Glitters Isn't Gold."
Human rights campaigners from Adalah-NY have
pledged to contact Academy Award organizers and
attendees to voice their concerns over Leviev's involvement.

The annual Hollywood ceremony had been jeopardized
by a protracted strike of the Writers Guild, which had
been denied a share of revenue generated by their
work online. Ironically, Leviev himself has also been
at the center of labor disputes in New York City involving
unpaid wages. Workers at construction sites co-owned
by Leviev and Shaya Bolmelgreen in New York City
have filed suits over withheld wages, and, according
to the Laborers Union, have complained of dangerous
work conditions, allegedly resulting in accidents
and serious injuries.

Sadly, just one year after the film Blood Diamond was
nominated for five Oscars, there is a chance that
tainted Angolan diamonds that bypass the Kimberley
Process which aims to eliminate trade in "conflict
diamonds" will be worn by stars at the Academy
awards. According to the 2007 "Diamond Industry
Annual Review" for Angola produced by the watchdog
organization Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), "the
Angolan Kimberley System has no way of tracking"
more than 10% of Angola's "diamonds back to source."
As a result, there are "more than a million carats per
year exiting Angola… with the murkiest credentials."
Leviev, who buys, polishes and sells Angolan diamonds,
is directly involved in these failings. Furthermore,
private security companies employed by Leviev in the
mining districts in northeast Angola have been accused
by Angolan human rights monitor Rafael Marques of
"humiliation, whipping, torture, sexual abuse, and, in
some cases, assassinations." Leviev has close ties with
Angola's repressive and corrupt Dos Santos regime which
has failed to hold elections since 1992.

Leviev's companies have also built homes in at least five
Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the Israeli-occupied
West Bank in violation of international law. The settlements
that Leviev has built seize vital resources and divide
Palestinian territories into isolated enclaves, destroying
hopes for the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

Leviev became involved in a flap with the international
charity Oxfam after the New York human rights
coalition Adalah-NY contacted Oxfam on January
8 following media reports that Oxfam had accepted
support from Leviev. In response, Oxfam stated
publicly that Leviev had never been an Oxfam
donor, nor would they accept donations from any
individual who constructs settlements in occupied
territory in contravention of international
humanitarian law. Twenty days after Adalah-NY
raised the issue, an article which claimed that Leviev
donated to Oxfam was finally removed from the
news site belonging to an organization of which
Leviev is the president.

After attending the gala opening of Leviev's first US
diamond store in Manhattan, actress Susan Sarandon
was approached by Israeli, Palestinian and US
human rights organizations urging her to cut ties
with the billionaire. An open letter sent to Sarandon
from the US-based Jewish Voice for Peace noted
Leviev's alleged misdeeds in Angola, Burma, and
New York, as well as in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories saying: "Leviev's strong support of the
settlements seriously compromises any efforts at
a just peace in the region. His efforts to expropriate
more lands from Palestinians, using both financial
and strong-arm tactics, greatly increase Palestinian
suffering. . . As Jews who yearn and work for a just
peace for Palestinians and Israelis, we implore you
to take a public stand against Leviev."

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