Year End Report, 2011

Highlights of 2011

Lev Leviev - Adalah-NY began its campaign against the Israeli diamond magnate and settlement builder Lev Leviev in 2007.  This campaign has had a number of successes, with governments, investment banks, celebrities, and international aid agencies distancing themselves from Leviev and his company Africa-Israel.  This led to Africa-Israel’s public statement in November 2010 that it has no plans to build settlements. In 2011, we continued to place pressure on Leviev to end his settlement construction activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, with a focus on Leviev’s Leader Management and Development’s continued settlement construction on the lands of Jayyous:

  • December 17, 2011: Held the 5th Annual Anti-Apartheid Holiday Caroling at the Leviev jewelry store in New York City.
  • November 2011 - January 2012: Initiated a campaign asking the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to end their connection with Lev Leviev. This work included a number of press releases that received media attention, as well as fliering and protest actions at FIT.
  • May 7, 2011: Mother’s Day protest at Leviev jewelry store in New York City.

TIAA-CREF – In 2011, Adalah-NY adopted the campaign against the pension giant TIAA-CREF that was originally begun by Jewish Voice for Peace and endorsed by numerous human rights groups across the globe.  We aim to promote this national campaign here in New York City, where TIAA-CREF is headquartered and where many of its participating institutions are based.  The campaign calls for TIAA-CREF to divest from companies supporting and profiting from Israeli apartheid, violations of international law, and human rights abuses, such as Elbit, Caterpillar, Motorola, Northrop Grumman and Veolia.

  • December 30, 2011: Posted a newly developed TIAA-CREF document onto our website to launch the campaign
  • July 19, 2011: Organized a protest outside the headquarters of US retirement fund giant TIAA-CREF, calling for an end to its investment in the Israeli occupation.
  • June 26, 2011: Helped organize and participated in a flashmob in Times Square after TIAA-CREF refused to allow a shareholder resolution to hold accountable companies in its portfolio that are supporting and profiting from the Israeli occupation.

Cultural Boycott – The cultural boycott against Israel aims to counteract Israel’s use of cultural works and events to normalize its illegal occupation of Palestine and whitewash its violations of international law and Palestinian human rights. As part of this movement, Adalah-NY has participated in a number of actions aimed at isolating Israeli cultural institutions complicit in their government’s actions.

  • November 2010: February 2011: Participated in an initiative, in cooperation with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD), asking Pete Seeger to join the cultural boycott campaign. The singer ultimately announced his support of the BDS movement.
  • October 18, 2011: In coordination with other BDS activists and groups, organized and participated in amulti-city protest of Indie Arie and Idan Raichel Concert in Olympia, WA; Seattle, WA; Boston, MA; and New York City.
  • March 11, 2011: Organized a panel for Israeli Apartheid Week with Judith Butler and John Greyson, “HowNow? Media, Politics and Queer Activism,” that focused on both the cultural and academic boycotts and the importance of queer BDS activism in Palestine and elsewhere.
  • February 22, 2011: Organized a protest of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) performance in New York City and helped to coordinate protests nationwide at locations where the IPO played.

Conferences and Workshops - Adalah-NY has taken part in a number of conferences and carried out workshops to present our work and participate in an ongoing discussion to further develop the international BDS movement in the United States and internationally, including:

Other Work:

  • July – December 2011: Development of new Adalah-NY website. The site was developed cost-effectively by a member of Adalah-NY, using 100% open source software. The site better represents our work by integrating a highly intuitive navigation system that groups associated content. The site features effective search engine optimization (SEO), a user friendly administrative interface, and an integrated Constituency Relationship Manager (CRM). It offers activists, media, and other visitors to the site easy access to resources and information about our events.
  • July - September 2011: In coalition with a number of Palestine solidarity groups, organized and participated in a September 15 rally and march to the United Nations demanding Palestinian sovereignty. The march coincided with the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations.
  • January - February, 2011: After the tragic killing of Palestinian protester Jawaher Abu Rahmah, Adalah-NY carried out a short campaign against US tear gas manufacturer Combined Systems Inc. (CSI):
    • January – Developed a key reference document on Israel's use of tear gas on Palestinians and supported two protests held at CSI headquarters in Jamestown, PA.
    • January 3 – Issued a joint open letter to CSI calling on CSI to stop providing Israel with lethal weapons.
    • January 11 – Organized a protest at the New York office of Point Lookout Capital Partners, which facilitates investment in CSI
    • February 6 - Issued an action alert that mobilized a thousand emails to the US State Department calling for the US to stop providing tear gas to repress popular struggles in Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, and Bahrain.