Documentary provokes call to boycott Israeli jeweller

The screening of a documentary at the Dubai International Film Festival here, triggered a call to boycott the Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev's well known outlet Levant Jewellery.

Leviev's companies build Jewish-only colonies in the occupied West Bank, including the village of Jayyous. Leviev also owns a self-titled diamond label that has been selling in Dubai for almost a year. Levant Jewellery here is owned by Leviev's local agent, Palestinian-Moroccan Arif Bin Khadra.

Protesting pro-Palestine activists distributed T-shirts and letters from the West Bank among the audiences during the screening of the film, "Slingshot Hip Hop", a documentary about Palestinian rappers in Israel by Arab-American filmmaker Jackie Salloum.

Activists have set up a Facebook group calling for a boycott of all Dubai venues, that host stores selling Leviev diamonds.

Levant stores exist in the Atlantis, Al Qasr and Mina Al Salaam hotels. Another branch is planned for the Dubai Mall. The group had recently limited success in persuading Hollywood celebrities to distance themselves from Leviev. So far, Sex and the City star Kirsten Davis, Full House star Mary-Kate Olsen, as well as Felicity Huffman and Melissa George have reportedly asked Leviev to stop using their names to promote the diamonds, the Gulf News said. Pictures of a number of other celebrities such as Salma Hayek, Sharon Stone and Whitney Houston remain on the Leviev website.

-- (UNI) -- 16DF2.xml

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