Adalah-New York's campaign against Leviev, the Russian-Israeli diamond dealer who has funded colonies in the West Bank, has new bite. Dubai has reconsidered and rejected plans by Leviev to open two stores there, evidently because of his role in illegal colonization.
“They sort of folded under the media pressure,” David Bloom, an Adalah-NY activist, said of the Dubai government. He credited his own organization — which circulated an e-mail titled “Is Dubai Helping Ethnic Cleansing In Palestine?” — as well as Arab media outlets, with embarrassing Dubai into disavowing a connection with Leviev.
Kudos to Adalah, and to the Forward's Marissa Brostoff, for using the words "ethnic cleansing in Palestine." Hope it breaks a spell on American Jewry!
Hollywood's Susan S has been uncharacteristically silent and invisible on this matter since she was asked to help the Palestinians a half year ago. She said at the time she was ignorant. So she represents the average American, but with a
limelight option. Maybe she still wants a career in Hollywood?
Not gonna ride off into the sunset over a cliff bantering sublime
female freedom, individualism? Character is defined by active choice–or its omission.
Don't blame her. She's looking pretty baggy these days. No amount of diamonds will help.
This is good news. Congratulations to Adalah, which I understand is a joint Arab/Jewish activist effort. This sort of thing is far more effective than 'dialogue' or worse, having dialogue to discuss the parameters of future dialogue.
It hits them where it hurts.
As for Sarandon, perhaps Adalah could now turn their attention to her. She's hardly alone on being a Hollywood limo-lib who shares the pain of those less fortunate, with the notable exception of Palestinians (Dennis Perrin has a good post on this phenomenon), but she has taken the extra step of air-kissing with a creator of the illegal settlements which cause the terrorism we are supposed to be at war with.
Just checked Sarandon on Wikipedia. A whole section on 'political activism' but not a jot on Leviev.
Takes me to tin-hat territory, after last week's revelations that Google is censoring pro-Palestinian sites and long-standing claims of organised Zio-cleansing of Wikipedia.
A concerted effort to make such a celebrity back off an association with uber-Zionism, especially if she felt moved to emote about it publicly (a temptation actors find hard to refuse) could be very useful indeed.
Hit 'em where it hurts.