Having connections to the settlements is really becoming a scarlet letter, isn’t it? Adalah-NY reports that the international humantarian organization CARE USA has dropped a member of its board of directors over their relationship to Lev Leviev’s Africa Israel which builds homes in West Bank settlements.
From the Adalah-NY press release:
A member of the board of directors of the leading international humanitarian aid organization CARE USA has taken a voluntary leave of absence from CARE’s board due to the involvement of his employer, Africa Israel, in Israeli settlement activities. The move last week came after a July 12 letter to the Atlanta-based non-profit by the rights group Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel that outlined Africa Israel’s settlement ties, followed by letters from Jews Say No, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) andCODEPINK, and meetings and discussions between representatives from CARE and Adalah-NY and JVP.
Riham Barghouti from Adalah-NY explained, “We thank CARE USA for acting swiftly to appropriately address this issue once it was brought to their attention. Representatives from CARE USA told us that they have approved the Board member’s request for an indefinite leave of absence while he remains in any way affiliated with Africa Israel. While on leave, we have been assured that the member in question will not attend or vote at Board meetings, receive Board information, or play any other role on the CARE USA Board.” . . .
Aaron Levitt from Adalah-NY said, “CARE’s response upheld the organization’s reputation for integrity, and was consistent with its more than 60 years of principled service to individuals and families in many of the poorest communities in Palestine and worldwide. It is our understanding that the Board member in question had no knowledge of Africa Israel’s involvement with settlement construction prior to Adalah-NY’s letter. The board member was already serving on the CARE USA Board when he established his connection with Africa Israel. We accept CARE USA’s assurance that the organization would never knowingly appoint a person associated with Israeli settlements to the CARE board.”
A quick internet search of the CARE USA website would seem to indicate that the board member in question is Richard A. Marin, the Executive Chairman and CEO of Africa Israel Investments USA. Although he isn’t currently listed on their website, he does appear in this cached version.
This campaign follows similar efforts by Adalah-NY to isolate Leviev for his settlement construction activities. In the past they have been successful in getting Oxfam, UNICEF and other charitable causes to distance themselves from Leviev over Africa Israel.
Here’s more from Adalah-NY on Africa Israel’s role in the settlements:
From 2000 -2008, Danya Cebus, the construction subsidiary of Africa Israel, built homes in the settlements of Har Homa, Maale Adumim (two different projects), Adam, and Mattityahu East on the land of the West Bank village of Bil’in. According to Who Profits, a project of Israel’s Coalition of Women for Peace, Africa Israel owns a percentage of the Alon Group, which has facilities and supermarkets in a number of Israeli settlements through the company Blue Square. In late December, 2009, Africa Israel sold Anglo-Saxon Real Estate, a company that sold settlement homes. Another Leviev-owned company, Leader Management and Development, owns and operates the expanding settlement of Zufim, built on the land of the West Bank village of Jayyous. Leviev has also been a donor to the Israeli groups the Land Redemption Fund and the Bukharan Community Trust, both of which have been involved in expanding Israeli settlements.
Update: Here is an official statement from CARE USA on the issue:
STATEMENT
Rich Marin is voluntarily taking a leave of absence from his position on the CARE USA board of directors.
Mr. Marin has been a long-time supporter of CARE, playing key roles in the former CARE Corporate Council and in several fundraising efforts. After joining the CARE board in 2008, Mr. Marin was hired as the CEO of Africa Israel Investments USA (AFI USA), a real estate investment company that invests in the United States and Panama. The parent company of AFI USA is Africa Israel Investments Ltd.
Recently, a grassroots organization called Adalah-NY notified CARE and Mr. Marin that some companies under Africa Israel Investments Ltd. have been connected to building settlements in the West Bank in violation of international law. Although Mr. Marin and AFI USA do not build settlements in the West Bank, Mr. Marin did not want even the appearance of a connection to hinder CARE’s work, especially in West Bank and Gaza, so he voluntarily stepped aside from his CARE USA Board obligations.
CARE opposes illegal settlement building and encourages all parties to redouble their efforts toward a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the West Bank and Gaza. Mr. Marin remains committed to CARE’s work in the West Bank and Gaza and to CARE’s global vision: a world of hope, tolerance and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live in dignity and security.
We continue to thank Mr. Marin for his service to CARE and to the people living in extreme poverty around the world.
