Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign: Leviev boycott moves forward with action in the UK and NYC

Worldwide Activism

Leviev boycott moves forward with action in the UK and NYC
Worldwide Activism, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, October 8th, 2008

Palestine solidarity organization Adalah-NY was recently involved in two actions against Lev Leviev, the Israeli diamond magnate and construction mogul. The first action called on the British government to reverse its plan to rent its new embassy in Tel Aviv from Leviev’s company, Africa-Israel, as dealings with Leviev serve to condone the Occupation’s settlement construction on stolen Palestinian land.

Adalah-NY’s call was part of a letter-writing campaign to the British Foreign Office, which Adalah-NY spearheaded, as part of large alliance of Palestinian and international civil society, including Architects & Planners for Justice in Palestine, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, War on Want, the West Bank villages of Bil’in and Jayyous, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, Jews Against the Occupation.

Adalah-NY’s second action against Leviev came on September 23, when the organization set up a protest at a glitzy fundraiser sponsored by Lev Leviev for the Museum of the City of New York.

Above: An example of an Adalah-NY flyer distributed at the protest.

At this year’s “New York After Dark” event, wealthy attendees were greeted by noisy protesters with drums, whistles and chants. Despite the efforts of fifteen New York City police officers to prevent the protestors from reaching the attendees, the protestors were able to distribute flyers featuring cartoon Wanted photos of Leviev. The flyers were entitled 'Wanted: Lev Leviev, For Breaking International Law', and they cited offences including the construction by Leviev’s companies Africa Israel and Leader of the Israeli settlements Mattityahu East, Zufim, Har Homa and Maale Adumim on Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Lev Leviev is a billionaire whose companies’ settlement construction projects - Mattityahu East in Modi’in Illit, Zufim, Ma'ale Adumim and Har Homa - are central to the Occupations efforts to seize control of and annex strategic areas of the West Bank. They take water and key agricultural areas from Palestinians and serve to carve up the West Bank into isolated enclaves. Ma’ale Adumim and Har Homa are part of the Jerusalem settlement envelope and serves to cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of West Bank. Leviev also provides significant financial support to the Land Redemption Fund, an organization whose aim is to secure Palestinian land for settlement construction.

Public pressure has been mounting against Leviev, and over the past year both UNICEF and Oxfam have cut ties with him because of his companies’ involvement in settlement construction. Leviev has also received a barrage of negative media, and the companies of Shaya Boymelgree, Leviev’s partner in one settlement, are being sued in Canadian courts for war crimes by the West Bank village of Bil’in.