Following boycott call, Dubai says Leviev has no license for planned jewelry stores

New York, NY, April 30 – In a sudden reversal, just 16 days after Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev publicly announced plans to open two new jewelry stores in Dubai this year, a high-level Dubai government official said that Leviev had no trade license to open a store in the Emirate. The report today in Dubai’s Gulf News, followed a flurry of media coverage of the April 18 call by Palestinians and New York activists for Dubai to boycott Leviev’s businesses over his companies’ settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Issa Ayoub, a spokesperson for Adalah-NY, an activist group leading a boycott campaign against Leviev, commented, “We’re gratified that, by refusing trade licenses for Leviev, Dubai has joined the growing movement to boycott Leviev’s companies due to their violations of international law and human rights abuses in Palestine and Angola. We repeat our call to the people of Dubai to stop entirely the sale of Leviev’s jewelry, even in local stores. Israeli businesses like Leviev’s need to be held accountable for their role oppressing the Palestinian people.”

An April 30th article, “Israeli has no trade license to open shop in Dubai”, by Abbas Al Luwati in Dubai’s Gulf News (archive.gulfnews.com/nation/General/10209492.html) quoted Ali Ebrahim, Deputy Director General for Executive Affairs in Dubai saying, “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.” According to the article, “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.”