Friday, May 30, 2008

UAE Representatives Affirm Boycott of Leviev


By Adalah-NY
Palestine Chronicle

"Officials at the United Arab Emirates Mission to the UN affirmed their government's commitment to boycotting the businesses of Israeli settlement-builder Lev Leviev in a meeting Tuesday afternoon with representatives from Adalah-NY and Jews Against the Occupation (JATO).

Leviev is attempting to open jewelry stores in the Emirate of Dubai and to sell his diamonds there. The UAE officials promised to pass on to their government photos from Dubai, one taken Tuesday, showing that Leviev's local partner Arif Ben Khadra is currently advertising and selling Leviev's products in Dubai in defiance of the Emirate boycott policy. As the meeting took place, twelve New Yorker human rights advocates held signs and distributed flyers in the street below in support of the boycott.

Noting that some Dubai sources had indicated that Leviev may still try to open the stores under Leviev or a local partner's name, Adalah-NY's Ethan Heitner explained, "we were glad to learn that officials in the Emirates plan to be diligent in enforcing their ban on Leviev, and not allow their citizens to be deceived by a company that seems intent upon thumbing its nose at both local UAE and international law."

In mid-April, immediately after Leviev announced plans to open two new jewelry stores in Dubai, Adalah-NY called on the government and the people of the Emirate of Dubai to boycott Leviev because of his businesses' involvement in human right abuses and violations of international law in Palestine, Angola and New York City. On April 30, Ali Ebrahim, Deputy Director General for Executive Affairs in Dubai, was quoted in Gulf News saying that authorities had "not granted a trade license to any business of this name" and would not approve the application should one be made. According to Gulf News, Ebrahim "added that Israeli businesses would be prevented from operating in Dubai through non-Israeli partners."......."

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