Leviev asks Academy Award stars to wear diamonds tainted by human rights abuses (tags)
Lev Leviev, the Israeli settlement builder and diamond mogul who has been accused of supporting human rights abuses in Angola, Burma, New York City and Palestine, is lending his jewelry to some attendees of the 80th annual Academy Awards this Sunday. Leviev has made a concerted effort to associate himself and his businesses with global elites, but a barrage of negative publicity related to these rights abuses has tarnished Leviev’s image, suggesting that, as NY Jewish Week wrote recently, “For Leviev, All that Glitters Isn’t Gold." Human rights campaigners from Adalah-NY have pledged to contact Academy Award organizers and attendees to voice their concerns over Leviev’s involvement.
BLOOD DIAMOND: The Deadly Price of High Fashion (tags)
On December 8th, 2006, Warner Brothers released the action thriller Blood Diamond, and the world was reminded about the illicit African diamond trade. Set in the West African country of Sierra Leone in the 1990’s, the film unfolds a story of diamond smuggling with a backdrop of child soldiers, brutal amputations, and countless senseless deaths.