Protestors to picket outside Leviev's new U.S. store November 20, 2007
New York—Protestors plan to demonstrate outside Leviev's new U.S. flaghsip store in New York City for the second time in a week in response to company founder Lev Leviev's alleged projects in the West Bank and New York.
The protest is being organized by Adalah-NY: Coalition for Justice in the Middle East.
The organization, which is calling for a boycott of the new Madison Avenue store, claims that Leviev had a personal role in the confiscation of Palestinian land and in the construction of five illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The organization is also protesting projects in New York City that Leviev is supposedly working on with residential developer Shaya Boymelgreen. The organization claims that the New York City projects are examples of unsafe development that are pushing lower- and working-class communities out of the city.
Leviev President and Chief Operating Officer Thierry Chaunu said the protests have "nothing to do with his company" and referred further questions to public relations firm Edelman.
A representative from Edelman was not immediately available for comment.
A grand-opening celebration for the new Leviev store was held on Nov. 13, and stars including actresses Isabella Rossellini and Susan Sarandon, who is known for her political activism, attended.
About 30 protestors demonstrated outside the store during last week's gala.
According to Adalah-NY's Web site, Tuesday's protest will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Leviev store has been open to the public since Monday.
National Jeweler Network offers jewelry industry professionals news on the latest trends in the jewelry
industry, as well as information about jewelry trade shows and upcoming events. By providing
comprehensive information on trends in the diamond industry, as well as trends in colored stone retailing,
National Jeweler should be a Jewelers first stop for jewelry fashion reports and jewelry supplier
information. Sign up for our Jewelry Industry newsletter today!
RSS
