Susan Sarandon exploring request that she cut ties with Leviev over Israeli settlement construction
Thursday, December 13th, 2007Adalah-NY Contact: justiceme@gmail.com
New York, NY, Dec. 10, 2007 – Oscar-winning actress and UNICEF goodwill ambassador Susan Sarandon has told a New York City activist group, Adalah-NY, that she is exploring Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev’s construction of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and exploitation of marginalized communities in other parts of the world. Sarandon was responding to a letter from Adalah-NY requesting that she boycott Leviev. According to The New York Post, Sarandon attended the November 13 gala opening of Leviev’s Madison Avenue jewelry boutique LEVIEV New York, as Adalah-NY protested Leviev’s illegal activities outside.
The November 20th letter to Ms. Sarandon requested that she “refrain from making any purchases from Leviev-owned businesses” and “join our campaign and add [her] prominent voice to the call for a boycott of Leviev’s products.” The letter was endorsed by a number of groups and individuals, including Jews against the Occupation-NYC, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee – New York Chapter, and representatives from the West Bank Palestinian villages of Jayyous and Bil’in, two communities that Leviev is destroying by building settlements on their land. Following discussions between representatives of Ms. Sarandon and Adalah-NY, Susan Sarandon’s Assistant Mark Edlitz responded in a December 7 email to Adalah-NY that, “We received the information you sent. Ms. Sarandon will do her own exploration on this topic before drawing any conclusions.”
