Land Developer BDS (Leviev)

Valentine's Day protest at Leviev NYC on Feb 6, 2016
Third time we shut down the store. Our Valentine's Day protest at Leviev NYC on Feb 6, 2016

Press Release

Oprah Winfrey asked to renounce Israeli diamond mogul Leviev over rights abuses

Media Contact:  info@adalahny.org

July 1, New York, NY - In a letter made public today, nine organizations and 34 individuals from the US, Palestine, Israel and South Africa called on Oprah Winfrey to publicly distance herself from the companies of Israel billionaire Lev Leviev. Ms. Winfrey wore Leviev diamonds on the cover of the May 2015, 15th anniversary issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. The letter detailed Leviev’s companies’ involvement in serious human rights abuses in Palestine and Angola.

On May 29, Adalah-NY emailed the letter to executives at O and the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The letter noted, “We fear that this publicity conveys to your peers and to the public your implicit endorsement and promotion of Leviev’s companies.” Chelsea Hettrick, Communications Director at OWN, told an Adalah-NY representative that Ms. Winfrey was reviewing the letter, and that Ms. Winfrey’s team would respond soon. However, Ms. Hettrick then failed to reply to further calls and emails.

Among those who have severed ties with Leviev’s companies over their human rights abuses are UNICEF, Oxfam America, the British and Norwegian governments, and New Zealand’s pension fund.

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Web Action

Open Letter to Oprah Winfrey re: Lev Leviev

O MagUS megastar and social justice philanthropist Oprah Winfrey wore diamond earrings made by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev on the cover of the May 2015 edition of O, the Oprah Magazine. She wore the earrings despite the fact that Leviev’s companies have been involved in brutal human rights abuses in the diamond industry in Angola and in the construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. On May 29, Adalah-NY emailed the letter below, signed by nine organizations and 34 individuals from the US, Palestine, Israel and South Africa to: Ms. Winfrey; Sheri Salata and Eric Logan, Presidents of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN); Lucy Kaylin, Editor in Chief of O; and Gayle King, Editor at Large of O. The letter calls on Ms. Winfrey to demonstrate that she does not support Leviev’s abusive business practices by publicly distancing herself from his companies. Following email exchanges and phone calls between letter signers and executives from O and OWN over the course of more than three weeks, Ms. Winfrey’s representatives have failed to provide a promised response to the letter.

Please join the call for Ms. Winfrey to support the human rights of Angolans and Palestinians. Fill out and submit the form on the right in order to sign the letter and email a copy to: Chelsea Hettrick, Communications Director at OWN; Lucy Kaylin, Editor in Chief of O; and Karla Gonzalez, Assistant to Lucy Kaylin at O. 

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Press Coverage

Mondoweiss

Boteach says boycotting businesses in West Bank settlements is Nazi-like activity

Abstract: 

Rightwing rabbi Shmuley Boteach writes in the Jerusalem Post that “Israel haters… follow my trail on the Internet like dogs in heat.” But Boteach seems to seek the attention: his latest encounter with critics of Israel was on Madison Avenue last Saturday, when he approached protesters outside a store associated with an Israeli business in the occupied West Bank and taunted the group by loudly celebrating Israel and denouncing Hamas. His children joined in his chants.

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Press Release

Palestinian Rights Protesters Find Leviev’s NYC Diamond Store Closed and Empty

New York, NY, December 21, 2014—Forty New York human rights advocates arrived to protest Saturday afternoon at Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev’s flagship Madison Avenue diamond store and were surprised to find the store closed and the display cases completely emptied of all merchandise during the busiest shopping period of the year. The New Yorkers had gathered for the eighth consecutive year to sing parody holiday carols opposing Leviev’s companies’ construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in violation of international law (PHOTOS).

Leaning signs against the empty store, the protesters sang what have become Adalah-NY anti-apartheid holiday classics with lines such as, “We wish you a loss of business, we wish you a loss of business, we wish you a loss of business and a poor fiscal year,” and “It’s beginning to look a lot like failure, at Leviev’s store.”

Hannah Mermelstein from Adalah-NY commented, “Leviev’s billions have come from exploiting Palestinian and Angolan communities. So today we celebrate because it seems our years of holiday wishes have come true: Leviev’s store is empty.”

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