Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel in New York City.

Shaya Boymelgreen and Lev Leviev:
destroying communities and violating laws in Palestine and New York City.

Summary

Israeli American real estate developer Shaya Boymelgreen and Israeli businessman Lev Leviev are building destructive projects in New York City and in the Occupied West Bank in Palestine. Leviev and Boymelgreen are building strategic settlements in the Occupied West Bank which violate international law and aim to ensure Israeli control over key areas in the West Bank, rendering peace between Israelis and Palestinians impossible. In Palestine and in New York City they are committing similar abuses: expelling low-income, local residents from their communities, violating laws, and exploiting laborers.

Leviev, one of Israel’s wealthiest businessmen, is building the Mattityahu East settlement on the lands of the village of Bil’in with partner Shaya Boymelgreen, the Zufim settlement on the lands of the village of Jayyous, and the strategic West Bank settlements of Har Homa and Maale Adumim around Jerusalem which divide the northern West Bank from the Southern West Bank. In Bil’in and Jayyous, Boymelgreen and Leviev are building settlements on village land despite intensive nonviolent protest campaigns mounted by the two Palestinian villages against the construction.

Leviev, a major diamond trader who mines diamonds in Africa and polishes them in Israel, uses some of these profits to help finance his illegal settlement construction. Shaya Boymelgreen, until recently Leviev’s partner in real estate development in New York City and still his partner in building Mattityahu East, has angered so many so many community members in New York City with his abusive developments that he has become the target of local organizing campaigns.

Zufim and Mattityahu East settlements, built by Leviev and Boymelgreen, are projects “that aimed both to establish enclaves in the Occupied Territories for wealthy, more ‘mainstream’ settlers, and to dissolve the Green Line (Israel’s pre-1967 border) by creating ‘facts on the ground’—linking the new settlements to communities inside the Line, while expanding the latter in the direction of the Territories.” – Israeli historian Gadi Algazi, July, 2006, Settlers on Israel’s Eastern Frontier, Le Monde Diplomatique.

The Campaign

In November, Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East began a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign against Israel which aims to pressure Leviev and Boymelgreen to stop building illegal settlements in Occupied Palestine and to end their abusive development in New York City. More immediately the campaign will educate New Yorkers about Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people, help build a larger BDS campaign in New York City, and develop links with and support activists working against similar abusive practices in New York City.

Many around the world recognize the extent of Israel’s breach of international law. The real challenge now is to do something about it. The time has come to apply effective international pressure against Israel similar in scope and comprehensiveness to that successfully used to end apartheid in South Africa. Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions are non-violent economic, political and cultural measures adopted by individuals, groups or governments intended to protest and place pressure on governments to end objectionable policies.

All Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory violate international law according to a broad international consensus which includes the UN, the International Court of Justice, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that, “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer part of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”

In July 2005, 171 Palestinian civil society organizations called upon "upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era. We appeal to you to pressure your respective states to impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel. We also invite conscientious Israelis to support this Call, for the sake of justice and genuine peace."

This campaign offers strongly rooted, local BDS targets for New York City activists, as one component of the broader, international BDS campaign targeting Israel.

Shaya Boymelgreen

“The main entrepreneurs involved in the expansion of Modi‘in Illit are Lev Leviev, one of Israel’s most powerful businessmen and an owner of Africa Israel Investments; Leviev’s business partner Shaya Boymelgreen, an American real-estate investor; Mordechai Yona, the former head of the Contractors Association; and Pinchas Salzman, an orthodox businessman.” Israeli historian Gadi Algazi, July-August, 2006, Offshore Zionism, New Left Review.

Shaya Boymelgreen and Lev Leviev created the US real estate development company Leviev Boymelgreen in 2002. With Boymelgreen as President, Leviev Boymelgreen built and developed numerous projects in Manhattan and Brooklyn. These developments have been plagued by construction problems, including delays and poor craftsmanship. Their employees, frequently non-union, are underpaid and work in unsafe conditions. Their poor development practices endanger their workers and the surrounding community. As a result New York City communities have organized to stop their abuses, including through one campaign organized by ACORN and The Laborers Union. Leviev and Boymelgreen dissolved their US partnership in the summer of 2007. Shaya Boymelgreen remains a major New York City real estate developer and a major player in the planned Gowanus Village development in Brooklyn.

The West Bank village of Bil’in is known worldwide for conducting a nearly three-year nonviolent campaign, in partnership with Israeli activists, against Israel’s Wall and settlements. The wall was built to take half of Bil’in’s lands and facilitate the expansion of Israeli settlements on that land. Shaya Boymelgreen is building part of the Mattityahu East neighborhood in the Israeli settlement of Modi’in Illit, on Bil’in’s land. Boymelgreen’s Canadian company, The Green Park Project, subcontracted Lev Leviev's company Danya Cebus to carry out this construction. The construction of Mattityahu East on Bil’in’s agricultural land undermines villagers’ ability to survive and remain in their homes. Boymelgreen hired low-paid Palestinian and immigrant laborers to build Mattityahu East.

After nearly three years of nonviolent protest by the village of Bil’in involving over 200 protests, over a thousand injuries and hundreds of arrests, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on September 4, 2007 that the wall must be rerouted in Bil’in, saving some of Bil’in’s land and stopping part of Boymelgreen’s planned construction in Mattityahu East. However, on September 5, the Israeli Supreme Court legalized other Boymelgreen settlement building in Mattityahu East on Bil’in’s land, despite ample evidence that they were illegal even under Israeli law.

Lev Leviev

Lev Leviev is one of Israel’s wealthiest and most powerful businessmen. Born in Uzbekistan, Leviev made his initial fortune as a siteholder with the powerful South African diamond company DeBeers during the Apartheid era, thereby supporting South African apartheid. Leviev eventually left DeBeers to begin his own operations and became known as the man who "cracked the DeBeers cartel." In 1996 Leviev bought the controlling share of the company Africa-Israel, which owns numerous subsidiary companies including Danya Cebus. Danya Cebus has carried out a number of projects building Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Given his company's current settlement construction and Leviev's background collaborating with apartheid South Africa, it is not surprising that according to Africa-Israel's 2004 Annual Report, Africa-Israel was originally established in 1934 as Africa Palestine Investments Ltd. "by a group of Jewish investors from South Africa, with the purpose of engaging in acquisition and development of real estate for Jewish settlement in Israel". The company changed its name from Africa Palestine to Africa-Israel in 1967, the year Israel seized control of all of historic Palestine by militarily occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Leviev is now the world’s largest cutter and polisher of diamonds, and is also deeply involved in diamond sales, and in diamond mining in Angola, Namibia and Russia. In Angola, Leviev’s activities related to diamond purchasing and sales contribute to severe human rights violations. In New York City, Africa-Israel owns a number of major properties and has been involved in construction projects with underpaid workers laboring in dangerous conditions that displace the local low- and moderate-income families. In addition to Africa-Israel and its many subsidiaries like Danya Cebus, Leviev’s business empire includes a number of diamond and jewelry companies known collectively as Lev Leviev Diamonds (LLD). He also owns other companies, including Leader Management and Development, which is currently building the settlement of Zufim on Palestinian land in the West Bank.

A glowing, uncritical profile of Leviev in The New York Times Magazine on September 16, 2007 noted that Leviev has bought over $1 billion of real estate in New York City in the last year. The Times article called Leviev a “moderate,” and quoted a former adviser to Ariel Sharon saying of Leviev, “He’s not one of the crazies… Certainly not a Greater Israel man.” The New York Times article failed to note Leviev’s companies’ settlement construction, their involvement in human rights abuses in Angola where his companies mine diamonds, or his problematic New York City real estate projects.

The assertion that Leviev is moderate is belied by his companies’ settlement construction and Leviev’s words. In a March 2008 interview in Ha’aretz Daily, Anshel Pfeffer asked Leviev, “Do you have a problem with building in the territories?” Leviev responded, “Not if the State of Israel grants permits legally.” But, regardless of Israeli law, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories violate international law according to a widespread international consensus. According to an English translation of the same Ha’aretz interview published in The Jewish Chronicle, Leviev explained, “For me, Israel, Jerusalem and Haifa are all the same.” “So are the Golan Heights. As far as I’m concerned, all of Eretz Israel is holy. To decide the future of Jerusalem? It belongs to the Jewish people. What is there to decide? Jerusalem is not a topic for discussion.” Told that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apparently thinks differently about Jerusalem, Leviev responded, “Then he has a problem. It’s a betrayal of the Jewish people if the prime minister thinks so.”

Construction of Israeli settlements by Leviev’s Companies: Leviev’s companies’ most recent settlement construction projects - Mattityahu East in Modi’in Illit, Zufim, Maale Adumim and Har Homa - are central to Israel’s efforts to seize control of and annex strategic areas of the West Bank. They take water and key agricultural areas from Palestinians, carve up Palestinian areas of the West Bank into isolated enclaves, cut off East Jerusalem from the West Bank, and thus help to destroy any remaining hopes for the creation of a Palestinian state. Most of the settlements that Leviev built or is building are located west of the route planned for Israel’s wall, in the West Bank settlement blocs that Israel aims to annex. Indeed, there is clear evidence, according to a report by the Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem and Bimkom, that the wall’s path deep within the West Bank was drawn with the intention of facilitating the expansion and annexation of these settlements.

In 2004 Leviev’s Danya Cebus company, a subsidiary of Africa-Israel, agreed to serve as the subcontractor for Shaya Boymelgreen’s Green Park Project for the construction of 2500 homes in the settlement of Mattityahu East on Bil’in’s land (click for contract in Hebrew showing Danya Cebus' responsibility for Mattityahu East homes and for other sources). The village of Bil’in has gained worldwide renown for its three-plus-year nonviolent protest campaign, supported by Israeli and international activists, which aimed to save 50% of the village’s land from Mattityahu East and Israel’s wall. Danya Cebus is also building 60 homes in the strategic settlements of Har Homa on Jabel Abu Ghneim that divides Jerusalem from Bethlehem, and 102 homes in Maale Adumim which divides the northern and southern West Bank. Even the US government, Israel’s closest ally, has criticized both Har Homa and Maale Adumim. Africa-Israel was also one of the original companies that agreed to market and build Har Homa in the early 1990s, before Leviev bought Africa-Israel. In 1999, Leviev's Africa-Israel announced plans to build 700 new homes in the settlement of Ariel, which reaches up to 13 miles inside the West Bank, cutting off the northern West Bank from the rest of the West Bank. It is not clear whether this construction was ever implemented. Articles in Globes, Israel's leading financial newspaper, also announced that Danya Cebus was contracted to build 175 homes in the settlement of Maale Adumim in 2000, as well as an undetermined number of homes in the settlement of Adam in 2003.

Leviev and his brother in-law Daviv Eliashov own Leader Management and Development (often translated from Hebrew to English as “LIDAR”). Leader is expanding the Zufim settlement on the land of the West Bank village of Jayyous, according to documents obtained by Israel’s Coalition of Women for Peace from Israel's Companies Registrar in Jerusalem (click here for the documents). According to B’Tselem and Bimkom, Leader requested approval to expand Zufim by around 1400 housing units, and has started building them. In 2002, Jayyous became the first village to mount a sustained nonviolent campaign, with the participation of Israeli and international activists, against the construction of the wall and related settlement expansion on its land. Because Jayyous’ agricultural land was cut off by the wall to facilitate Zufim’s expansion, The Financial Times reported in September, 2006 that 50% of the once prosperous Jayyous villagers were reliant on foreign food aid.

Together, these examples show that Leviev’s companies are major builders of Israeli settlements - not the biggest builders, but very important ones. From 1999 onward, the various cases listed above show that Leviev’s companies aimed to build approximately 5000 housing units in the West Bank. It is clear that some of these announced plans were not implemented, mostly due to protests and legal challenges by Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups. However, in the murky world of settlements, it is unclear how many were built. Using a conservative average family size of four residents per home, Leviev’s companies aimed to add almost 20,000 settlers to the West Bank settler population of around 450,000 during an eight year period. Had all their plans been implemented, Leviev’s companies alone would have increased the total Israeli settler population by 4.5% during an eight year period.

Leviev’s Aid to Settler Organizations: Claims that Leviev is a moderate are further belied by Leviev’s financial support, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, to the settler organization the Land Redemption Fund. Yedioth Ahronoth and other sources explain that the Land Redemption Fund has used large sums of money, strong-arm tactics and deceit to secure Palestinian land for settlement expansion. According to Gadi Algazi,“The fund, established 20 years ago, coordinates the takeover of Palestinian land in key areas earmarked for the expansion of the settlements.” Moreover, “The fund’s intelligence network is made up of former [Palestinian] collaborators who were discovered and returned to their villages, retired Israeli General Security Services operatives who are information contractors for pay, and former military governors,” who use their “connections in the villages.” The Land Redemption Fund’s attorney Moshe Glick explained the LRF’s goals to Yedioth Ahronoth in this manner: "The fund has no interest in just blurring the Green Line, but wants all of Judea and Samaria to move toward the State of Israel."

The Land Redemption Fund was central to securing land from Jayyous and Bil’in which was used for eventual settlement construction by Leviev’s companies. The Yedioth Ahronoth article explains, “The LRF also was responsible for purchasing the land on which parts of Oranit near Kafr Kassem was built, and for Tzofim [Zufim] near Tzur Yigal.” The village of Bil’in’s 2006 Supreme Court Appeal filed by Israeli attorney Michael Sfared explains the Land Redemption Fund’s central role in securing Bil’in’s land. The Appeal explains that, as just one example, “On 28 August 1990, Attorney Moshe Glick, the representative of Respondent 4 [The Fund for the Redemption of the Land], contacted Ms. Plia Albek, director of the Civil Department in the State Attorney’s Office, and informed her that his client, the Fund, had acquired several plots in the land of the village of Bil`in.”

Ha’aretz Daily reporter Meron Rapoport has also raised the possibility that Leviev is a donor to the settlement group Elad which is also using dubious means to take over the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan for Israeli settlement. Rapoport wrote that, “According to government sources, businessmen originally from Russia are among the main donors to Elad. At an event held by Elad two years ago, in honor of its new visitors center in the City of David, the guests of honor included Russian real estate tycoon Lev Leviev and Roman Abramovich, the owner of the Chelsea soccer club. Representatives of the two would not say whether they made donations to Elad.” Despite an order from Israel’s Registrar of Associations, Elad has refused to turn over a list of its donors. Thus until now it has been impossible to prove or disprove that Leviev has donated to Elad.

Leviev in Israel: Destroying Palestinian communities and building private prisons: Leviev’s Africa-Israel has also shown disregard for Palestinian land, homes and heritage inside what is now Israel. In just a few examples of recently publicized cases, Africa-Israel initiated projects to destroy the remains of and build on top of the Palestinian villages of Sheikh Muwanis and Sumail, located in what is now Tel Aviv. From 1947-50, during what Palestinians call al-Nakba, or the Catastrophe, Zionist militias and the Israeli army drove around 800,000 Palestinians from their homes and destroyed around 500 Palestinian towns and villages. In addition to the now more than 4 million Palestinian refugees who have been denied the right to return to their homes and villages, approximately 250,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel are also internally displaced. Though many live just miles from their former homes and lands, they too have never been allowed by the Israeli government to return to them.

An April 13, 2003 article in Ha’aretz Daily reported on efforts to save from demolition by Africa-Israel the Beidas home, one of the last remaining structures of Sheikh Muwanis village located in what is now Tel Aviv. The Ha’aretz article described the house as “a magnificent structure adorned by arches, which was constructed around 1900 by Mahmoud Beidas in the village Sheikh Muwanis, and remains impressive even today.” According to Ha’aretz, “the house is among the last few remains of the village Sheikh Muwanis which was located in the area until the establishment of the state of Israel, and the large part of which was destroyed. Besides the house there remain, as far as is known, only part of the cemetery of the village and the ‘Green House,’ which was renovated ten years ago and serves today as the faculty club of Tel Aviv University.” Despite multiple appeals, the Israeli organization Zochrot, which focuses on educating Israelis about the Nakba, reported that the home was demolished before the eyes of “Mrs. Majdulin Baydas, a daughter of the well-known al-Shaykh Muwannis family… a refugee living twenty minutes away from her father’s house.”

An April 16, 2007 article in the Israeli financial paper Globes reported on Africa-Israel’s partnership in another destructive project. ”The lot of the former Arab village of Sumail on Ben Sarouk Street at the junction of Arlozorov Street and Ibn Gvirol Street will be turned into a complex of high-rises and commercial centers… The Arab village of Sumail was abandoned by its inhabitants in the War of Independence in 1948 and the houses were occupied by Jewish residents. The area zoned for the project includes a number of vacant lots, where 120 people still live as squatters.” A December, 2007 article in Ha’aretz Daily notes that Africa-Israel took over complete responsibility for the Sumail project, including, it must be assumed, responsibility for evicting the 120 squatters.

In addition to imprisoning Palestinians on small pockets of land, surrounded by expanding Israeli settlements, Leviev’s Africa-Israel is building and soon will operate the first private prison in Israel. Africa-Israel won an Israeli government contract in 2005 to build and operate Israel’s first private sector prison. The prison, to be located in Be’ersheva, will hold 800 inmates. Ha’aretz Daily reports that court appeals have attempted to stop the creation of the prison because “transferring a prison to a private enterprise infringes on the sovereignty of the state. The state is supposed to have a monopoly on the use of force and punishment, and the petition alleges that a private facility contravenes the Basic Law on Government. The petitioners further claim that privatization could lead to a violation of a prisoner's rights, thus contravening the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty.” Nonetheless, the prison is expected to open in 2009 despite cost overruns, court appeals and significant opposition.

Africa-Israel is also one of the companies now bidding to build a giant police training center in Israel.

Destroying communities in New York City: Leviev has recently purchased over a billion dollars’ worth of real estate in Manhattan, including the former Met Life clocktower, the former New York Times building and 50% of the Apthorp building. While these purchases evoke images of wealth and glamour, many of his New York City real estate activities have also been characterized by abusive behavior towards communities and workers.

Shaya Boymelgreen, Leviev’s US and New York City real estate partner from 2002-2007, has been accused by the Laborers’ Union and ACORN of having a development history in New York City characterized as being “rife with unsafe conditions, shoddy construction and delayed work. Boymelgreen's developments are plagued by a variety of construction problems, including delays and poor craftsmanship. His employees are underpaid and work in unsafe conditions. At his construction sites, Boymelgreen's poor development practices not only endanger his workers, but also the surrounding community. His company's previous negligence caused physical harm and economic losses to the surrounding community.” The Laborers’ Union and ACORN also note that “Boymelgreen generally builds high-rise, luxury condos that benefit from tax abatements; yet he has a reputation for not creating any affordable housing. His pricy apartments displace the local low- and moderate-income families and destroy the unique character of Brooklyn.”

Many of the problems in Shaya Boymelgreen’s work, as highlighted by the Laborers’ Union and ACORN, were in developments that were co-owned by Lev Leviev as part of their New York City partnership. Almost all of the problematic developments are featured under “New York” on the website Leviev/Boymelgreen. A crosscheck between the buildings on the Leviev/Boymelgreen website that are cited as problematic by the Laborers’ Union and ACORN and other Africa-Israel sources (Africa-Israel’s 2005 Periodic Report, an Africa-Israel’s 2006 Periodic Report and the Africa-Israel website) confirms that most were co-owned by Africa-Israel and Boymelgreen when problems occurred. The Laborers’ Union has explained that it focused its campaign on Boymelgreen rather than Leviev and Africa-Israel because Boymelgreen was the on-the-ground manager and was locally known.

Examples of problems in buildings confirmed as partially owned by Africa-Israel include:

• Atlantic Court/The Smith: A wall accidentally collapsed during construction. 16 violations were issued by the Department of Buildings for failing to safeguard adjacent or public property. A lawsuit was filed for the continually unsafe management of construction debris. Failure to shore, support, brace or buttress the foundation during excavation of Atlantic Court damaged the foundation of a neighboring building, leading to a $3,000,000 suit.
• 60 Spring Street: 13 violations were issued by the Department of Buildings for failing to safeguard adjacent or public property. A lawsuit was filed against the continual, unsafe management of construction debris. An engineering report noted that brickwork was flaking and cracked. A designer clothing store postponed its flagship store opening at 60 Spring Street because of alleged construction delays, and was suing for alleged damages.
• Lawsuit by workers over withheld wages: Boymelgreen and Leviev were sued by 200 construction workers, supported by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, over their failure to pay the workers overtime for three years. The suit was settled out of court.

Additionally, the Laborers’ Union and ACORN note that construction workers at Boymelgreen's projects were earning $10 an hour, a fraction of the prevailing wage. Many of these workers would have been working on buildings co-owned by Leviev.

For all these reasons, families in Gowanus Village in Brooklyn, where Leviev and Boymelgreen had purchased a large part of an area planned for redevelopment, were greatly concerned about gentrification and destructive development. However, with the break-up in mid-2007 of Leviev and Boymelgreen’s US and New York City partnership, and Leviev and Boymelgreen’s current effort to sell their Gowanus Village property, families in Gowanus Village can breathe easier.

Still, Leviev’s New York City real estate problems have not ended with the break-up of his partnership with Shaya Boymelgreen. In March, 2008 his company was issued a stop-work order for building without permits at the Met Life Clocktower.

Much more troubling is the fact that Michael Idov’s September, 2007 New York Magazine article “Apoplectic at the Apthorp” describes tenants at the Apthorp being forced from their apartments after Leviev bought half of the building in early 2007. Idov explains, “residents were on edge, their fears running from massive rent hikes to flat-out evictions, and for some, the worst-case scenario happened almost immediately. Over the spring and summer, as lease after lease expired and got renewed, the building’s market-rate renters saw their rents rise by jaw-dropping sums all across the price spectrum. Apartment 3KS, a two-bedroom, went from $6,000 a month to $14,865. The monthly rate for one five-bedroom went overnight from $24,000 to $35,000. It is rumored that the monthly rent for at least one particularly spacious unit rose to $54,000—an impressive figure even for the rarefied Manhattan luxury-rental market.” And, “The vast majority of renters are simply afraid they’ll be muscled out (in the case of the rent-regulated tenants) or priced out (in the case of the free-market residents), their rents jacked up by such extreme amounts—double? triple?—that they’ll have no choice but to leave. It’s hard to say how many people have already left the Apthorp since Leviev entered the picture (one can’t separate distressed movers from normal turnover), but a recurring guesstimate, which Mann and Herbitter call far too high, puts that number at about 30.“

Finally, according to Ha’aretz Daily, in Florida Leviev and Boymelgreen’s real estate “dream has turned into a nightmare,” with construction delays, acrimony, the break-up of their partnership, lawsuits against the company by buyers and real estate agents, as well as denied mortgages.

Leviev’s Diamonds

Leviev is the world’s largest cutter and polisher of diamonds, and is also deeply involved in diamond sales, and in diamond mining in Angola, Namibia and Russia. In Angola, Leviev’s role in diamond mining, purchasing, sales and related activities contributes to severe human rights violations.

Leviev is among four owners of the Catoca mine in Angola, the world’s fourth largest diamond mine, and he has interests in four smaller Angolan mines. Leviev is the Angolan government’s international partner in Ascorp, which buys and markets Angolan diamonds, in Sodiam International, which sells diamonds internationally, and in the polishing company Angola Polishing Diamonds. Leviev suggests that his self-proclaimed compliance with the Kimberley Process, which aims to prevent the trade in “conflict diamonds” funding rebel groups, places him beyond reproach. However, Leviev and Angola are not fully complying with the Kimberley Process, according to non-governmental watchdog Partnership Africa Canada. Additionally, the Kimberley process aims only to prevent diamond funded abuses by rebel groups. It does not otherwise regulate the behavior of governments or diamond companies. The poverty and repression of communities in Angola’s diamond mining region where Leviev is active are extreme. Angola’s diamond sector, in which Leviev is a major player, is corrupt, produces minimal direct benefits for the communities where diamonds are mined, and contributes to severe human rights violations. Indeed the denial of the fundamental human rights of these Angolan communities resembles in many respects the denial of rights, the impoverishment, and the seizure of resources experienced by Palestinian communities as a result of Israeli military occupation, repression and settlement. Offenses regularly committed by diamond companies’ security forces and Angolan police include: arbitrary detention, torture, assaults and killings, restrictions on freedom of movement, destruction of agricultural fields, and seizure of property without compensation.

As Angolan human rights activist Rafael Marques, formerly of the Open Society Institute, explains, “The diamond trade has flourished on the back of a socio-economic system based on opacity, extreme violence, and exploitation. In this way, it has also contributed to the immense and uncontrolled wealth that feeds the national and foreign clients of the regime in Luanda.”

Leviev’s close partnership with Angola's Dos Santos regime in the diamond sector is supporting a repressive and corrupt government. Under President Dos Santos, Angola had failed to hold presidential or legislative elections since 1992. In September, 2008, Angola did finally hold legislative elections, and Angola plans to hold Presidential elections in 2009. However, according to a September 15, 2008 Human Rights Watch report, “Angola's parliamentary elections on September 5, 2008… were marred by numerous irregularities… The evidence obtained by Human Rights Watch on these three key issues - observers, media bias, and state funding - suggests the polls did not meet the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections in key areas.”

In 2007 Angola was classified among the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International’s Corruption Perception’s Index 2007, ranking 147th out of 179 countries. As one example, in a 2004 report on Angola’s lack of transparency in its use of oil revenue, Human Rights Watch commented, “More than four billion dollars in state oil revenue disappeared from Angolan government coffers from 1997-2002.” And, “The Angolan government has refused to provide information about the use of public funds to its population, thereby undermining the right to information. It has failed to establish hundreds of badly needed courts and allowed the judiciary to become dysfunctional, undermining Angolans’ ability to hold government officials and others accountable. And it has not fully committed to free and fair elections.” Angola’s diamond sector is second only to oil as a government revenue earner, and is plagued by similar problems.

Human Rights Violations committed by Leviev’s security firms: According to Rafael Marques, Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), and other sources, terrible human rights abuses have been committed by private Angolan security companies employed by Leviev and by other international and Angolan companies in the mining districts of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul in the northeast corner of Angola. As reported by Ben Smith in New York Magazine in 2007, “A security company contracted by Leviev was accused this year by a local human-rights monitor of participating in practices of ‘humiliation, whipping, torture, sexual abuse, and, in some cases, assassinations.’ Leviev's formal response to the report did not directly address the abuses but touted his charitable activities in Angola."

According to Partnership Africa Canada’s “Diamond Industry Annual Review: Republic of Angola 2007”, “Angola’s 1994 Diamond Law delegated extensive policing powers to the holders of government diamond concessions. Within the boundaries of a concession or protected zone, concession holders have the right to stop, question and search anyone, even those travelling on public roadways, suspected of some connection to illegal mining. Those deemed to have contravened the diamond law could be apprehended, forcibly if need be, to be turned over later to the police. As the law came to be interpreted, concession holders could even restrict the use of public roadways to those they deemed to have permission to travel. Concession holders, in turn, have delegated these powers to one of several private security firms.” The result according to Marques is that, “in zones covering hundreds of thousand of hectares, even outside of the concession area, the diamonds companies are the law. The forces of order are their private security companies, equipped with conventional war materiel.”

The private security firm K&P Mineira, described by Marques as providing “the most antagonistic services in the Cuango area,” “shares headquarters, in the capital Luanda, with the Lev Leviev operations. It is also K&P Mineira, one of whose shareholders is the provincial police commander of Lunda-Norte, sub-commissar Elias Livulo, that protects all of Leviev’s buying operations.” In his report “Operation Kissonde” Marques documented 32 very specific cases of human rights abuses committed by K&P Mineira in 2005-2006. Also in “Operation Kissonde”, Marques documents 30 specific cases of human rights abuses committed by a second private Angolan security firm, Alfa-5. Alfa-5 grew out of the South African mercenary group Executive Outcomes and is employed by Leviev and three partners at Catoca, the world’s fourth largest diamond mine. In “Lundas- Stones of Death”, Marques reports that, “The inhabitants of Saipupo village, 2 km from the kimberlite Catoca Project (Saurimo, Lunda-Sul) have been complaining the curfew imposed on car movements in and out of the village from 17H30, even in cases of medical urgency.” Both Marques and PAC have noted some recent improvements in the behavior of the private security firms.

Abuse and exploitation of Angola’s small-scale miners: Many of the human rights abuses by K&P Mineira and Alfa-5 that Marques documented were committed against “garimpeiros”, the informal sector of small-scale, unlicensed miners. In 2002 the Angolan government, with the support from diamond companies and security companies, in part seeing it as a way to fulfil its Kimberley Process obligations, launched a brutal crackdown on the informal mining sector. In addition to expelling hundreds of thousands of foreign miners, private security and police stepped up harassment of “garimpeiros”.

According to Marques in “Lundas- The Stones of Death”, the local population is trapped in an impossible situation by the diamond companies, their security companies, the laws and government policy, which pushes many into informal mining. PAC’s 2007 report summarizes the context, “The nearly one million residents of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul suffer disproportionately from the exploitation of Angola’s diamond resources. The projects themselves restrict their access to cropland, prohibit their use of local rivers, and in the longer term cause damage to local soil and water systems. The imposition of restricted and reserve zones subjects residents of the Lundas to arbitrary search and seizure by police and private security firms. Their homes and fields can be moved at the order of a diamond mining project. Their range of economic activity is largely restricted to simple subsistence agriculture.” Marques summarizes the outcome: “The Lunda provinces are a territory where the people would die of hunger if they were to abide by the law. This makes it a lawless territory both for the population, and for the diamond entrepreneurs. It is territory where economic activity is based on plunder, on the poverty of the local population, and on the violation or suppression of internationally recognized fundamental rights.”

With informal mining forbidden, yet few income-earning alternatives available except for informal mining, the local population is at the mercy of the security companies, police and mining companies who control the industry and the region. Diamond buyers, including the company Ascorp, which is owned by Leviev and the Angolan government, “take full advantage of the garimpeiros’ precarious legal standing. Garimpeiros entering a buying house are told what price their diamonds will fetch. Little or no bargaining is permitted. In cases where there is a disagreement, buyers simply call their security detail, and tell the garimpeiros they can take the money and leave, or leave empty-handed,” according to PAC.

Minimal Benefits to Angolan Communities: According to PAC, gross revenues from Angola’s diamond sales for the year 2006 were $1.2 billion, including government income for 2006 of $165 million. Nonetheless, minimal benefits have been returned to the impoverished residents of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul. PAC’s 2007 Annual Review explained that, “Successive Angolan budgets show the Lundas receiving among the lowest amounts of public investment. Villages in the vicinity of diamond mining projects – near Cafunfo and Cuango, near Lucapa, and Nzaji and Saurimo and Dundo – show next to no sign of government spending. There are no government public schools, or water supply systems, or public health clinics. Roads date from the colonial era, and have not been repaired since independence. Agricultural extension programs are nonexistent.” Thus the Angolan government, a close partner of Leviev and a major beneficiary of Leviev’s involvement in Angola’s diamond sector, does almost nothing for the communities where diamonds are mined.

As PAC explains, “The only really visible development impact in the Lundas comes… from the small amount of charitable work carried out by the diamond projects themselves… many of the projects do limited development work in the immediate vicinity of their mining sites, building schools or water supply systems.” PAC mentions the Catoca mine, where Leviev is one of four partners, as “the leader” in this. Catoca “has built a pair of six-room primary schools in nearby villages, and another school combining primary and middle grades. Catoca provides teaching supplies to the schools, and supplements the teachers’ very basic government salaries with a food allowance. Catoca operates a soy milk distribution centre, which daily donates 1500 litres of soy milk to 4000 children in the vicinity (and generates many photos of happy children drinking from milk containers prominently bearing the Catoca logo). Finally, Catoca has built a half-dozen small water distribution systems (essentially small pipelines from a river to a public fountain) in villages surrounding the mine.” In one village visited by PAC, the two kilometre system of piping, “built in 2003, worked for a year and then broke down… it has remained broken ever since."

PAC was also told in 2007 that Catoca had donated $2 million to the hospital in Saurimo, the closet major town. However, Catoca was unable to provide any evidence of that donation to PAC, which Catoca first said was given in 2003-2004, and then later said was given in 2002. Staff at the Saurimo hospital, which has a reported annual budget of $300,000, were unwilling to comment on whether they had received a $2 million donation. Interestingly, given the lack of confirmation, in June, 2004 a reporter for London’s Financial Times described Saurimo’s hospital “bereft of medical equipment.”

Whether or not Catoca, where Leviev is one of four partners, donated to Saurimo’s hospital, the donations cited above pale in comparison with the extreme poverty in Angola’s diamond region and the untold millions of dollars in profit reaped by Leviev annually from Angolan diamonds.

Leviev and the Kimberley Process: Leviev frequently defends his role in Angola by saying that he follows the Kimberley Process. There are two problems with this argument. One is that Leviev is not in fact fully following the Kimberley Process in Angola, and the second is that the Kimberley Process is a regulatory process meant to prevent the exploitation of “blood diamonds” or “conflict diamonds” by rebel groups, but it does not otherwise aim to ensure respect for human rights, nor the achievement of equitable development.

While PAC said in 2007 that there appeared to be “little problem” with Angola’s application of the Kimberley Process in the formal diamond sector, there are major problems in Angola’s informal sector purchasing, an area where Leviev and Ascorp are directly involved, and which produces 11% of Angola’s diamonds by volume, and 26% of Angola’s diamond revenues. Referring to informal sector diamonds, PAC noted in 2007 that there is “no way of tracking those diamonds back to source. The obvious failings in Angola’s Kimberley controls should be cause for concern in the wider Kimberley community. There are, after all, more than a million carats per year exiting Angola, all of it with the murkiest credentials.” According to PAC's 2008 Diamond Industry Annual Review "Angola’s Kimberley Process controls for the informal artisanal sector remain as ineffective and open to abuse as ever."

Finally, the Kimberley Process was never intended as a cure-all, and it certainly has not been in the case of Angola. As PAC explains, The Kimberley Process “has helped to consolidate the peace in several African countries, but it is a regulatory system; it is not a tool for development. In the rush to congratulation, we are in danger of forgetting some of those who suffered most in the diamond wars – the diggers, and their communities.”

Marques asked in a 2007 speech at St. Antony’s College in London, “Should one… say that the extraction of diamonds in Angola is OK? What the Kimberley Process, which was designed to drive blood diamonds out of the market, is doing is to rinse the blood from the gems, extracted in the Lundas, and certify them as clean.”

Justin Pearce, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph in Ontario, explained in African Securities Review in 2004 that, “the Kimberley Process defers to national sovereignty; it has no mechanism to keep a check on abuses that are carried out by, or with the complicity of, the state and its agents. The concept of “blood diamonds” is one which has hitherto been associated with armed conflict. The lesson of the Lundas today is that a notional peace is no guarantee that the exploitation of diamond resources will be done in a way that respects basic human rights, and which contributes to the development and well-being of the diamond-producing region, and the country as a whole. Perhaps it is time to re-think the idea of what constitutes a ‘blood diamond’.”

While Leviev’s diamond mining and sales likely do not fund warlords or insurgency in Africa where they are mined, they do fund the repressive Angolan government, support clear violations of human rights in Israel and Palestine where they are cut and polished, and provide only minimal support to development in Angola.

Leviev and Burma: In September, 2007 The Sunday Times in London reported that one of its reporters was offered a Burmese ruby for sale at Leviev’s London store, possibly a “blood ruby” used to finance Myanmar’s military junta. Despite Leviev's earlier denials, according to an October 18, 2007 UPI article, Leviev was warned by the EU to stop doing business with Burma or face sanctions.

The Illegality of all Israeli Settlements

The Geneva Conventions outline the responsibilities of an occupying power. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a party, states are prohibited from transferring civilians from the occupying power's territory into the occupied territory, and from creating permanent changes in the occupied territory that are not for the benefit of the occupied population.

There is broad international consensus that that all Israeli settlements in the West Bank – which includes East Jerusalem - violate the Fourth Geneva Convention and are, therefore, illegal according to international law. This position has been affirmed by the UN Security Council in Resolution 465, the International Court of Justice, the world's highest legal body, and by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the respected Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem. Not only did the US government repeatedly affirm this position throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Israeli Supreme Court has acknowledged de facto its validity by ruling that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are under "belligerent occupation."

Supporting Documentation on the Illegality of All Israeli Settlements:

A. The International Court of Justice, Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/imwp/imwpframe.htm

78. The territories situated between the Green Line (see paragraph 72 above) and the former eastern boundary of Palestine under the Mandate were occupied by Israel in 1967 during the armed conflict between Israel and Jordan. Under customary international law, these were therefore occupied territories in which Israel had the status of occupying Power. Subsequent events in these territories, as described in paragraphs 75 to 77 above, have done nothing to alter this situation. All these territories (including East Jerusalem) remain occupied territories and Israel has continued to have the status of occupying Power.

120. The Court concludes that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem) have been established in breach of international law.

B. Human Rights Watch, Israel: Bush Should Lay Down the Law on Settlements, April 11, 2005
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/04/11/isrlpa10462.htm

Israel's policy of encouraging, financing, establishing, and expanding Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories violates two main principles of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a party, states are prohibited from transferring civilians from the occupying power's territory into the occupied territory, and from creating permanent changes in the occupied territory that are not for the benefit of the occupied population.

”Israel is not only violating international law in expanding its settlements, but also its commitments under the “road map” to freeze them,” said Whitson. “Israel must evacuate its settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in order to uphold its responsibilities as an occupying power.”

C. Amnesty International, Israel/Occupied Territories, Removing Unlawful Settlements in the Occupied Territories: Time to Act, March 23, 2005
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150212005?open&of=ENG-ISR

However, the evacuation of some 8,000 Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip and from some very sparsely populated settlements in the West Bank must not be allowed to be used by Israel as an opportunity to expand other settlements in the West Bank, where some 400,000 Israelis live in violation of international law.

The international community has long recognized the unlawfulness of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. UN Security Council Resolution 465 (of 1 March 1980) called on Israel "... to dismantle the existing settlements and in particular to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem".

However, the international community failed to take any measure to implement this resolution. Most Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories were built after this resolution was passed, with the greatest expansion having taken place in the past decade. The establishment and expansion of settlements and related infrastructure in the West Bank is continuing on a daily basis, contrary to Israel's commitment under the UN-sponsored 2003 Roadmap peace plan. This week the Israeli government confirmed its plan to build 3,500 new settlement houses in the East Jerusalem area of the West Bank.

As well as violating international humanitarian law per se, the implementation of Israel's settlement policy in the Occupied Territories violates fundamental human rights provisions, including the prohibition of discrimination.

D. B'Tselem, Land Expropriation and Settlements
http://www.btselem.org/English/Settlements

Since 1967, Israel has established in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip 152 settlements that have been recognized by the Interior Ministry. In addition, dozens of outposts of varying size have been established. Some of these outposts are settlements for all intents and purposes, but the Interior Ministry has not recognized them as such....

In that the very establishment of the settlements is illegal, and in light of the human rights violations resulting from the existence of the settlements, B’Tselem demands that Israel evacuate the settlements. The action must be done in a way that respects the settlers’ human rights, including the payment of compensation.

East Jerusalem, B'Tselem
http://www.btselem.org/english/Jerusalem/Index.asp

East Jerusalem is occupied territory. Therefore, it is subject, as is the rest of the West Bank, to the provisions of international humanitarian law that relate to occupied territory. The annexation of East Jerusalem breaches international law, which prohibits unilateral annexation. For this reason, the international community, including the United States, does not recognize the annexation of East Jerusalem.

E. The United States Government

"Our position on settlements, I think, has been very consistent, very clear. The secretary expressed it not too long ago. He said settlement activity has severely undermined Palestinian trust and hope, preempts and prejudges the outcome of negotiations, and in doing so, cripples chances for real peace and prosperity. The U.S. has long opposed settlement activity and, consistent with the report of the Mitchell Committee, settlement activity must stop.” Mr. Richard Boucher, U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing -- November 25, 2002

"U.S. Policy toward the establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories is unequivocal and has long been a matter of public record. We consider it to be contrary to international law and an impediment to the successful conclusion of the Middle East peace process, Article 49, paragraph 6, of the Fourth Geneva Convention is, in my judgment, and has been in judgment of each of the legal advisors of the State Department for many, many years, to be. . .that [settlements] are illegal and that [the Convention] applies to the territories.” Secretary of State Cyrus Vance before House Committee. on Foreign Affairs -- March 21, 1980

"Substantial resettlement of the Israeli civilian population in occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under the convention and cannot be considered to have prejudged the outcome of future negotiations between the parties on the locations of the borders of states by the Middle East. Indeed, the presence of these settlements is seen by my government as an obstacle to the success of the negotiations for a just and final peace between Israel and its neighbors.” William Scranton, US Ambassador to the United Nations, UN Security Council -- March 23, 1976

F. The Israeli Supreme Court, as Cited by the PLO Negotiation Affairs Department
http://www.nad-plo.org/inner.php?view=facts_others_f23p

As early as 1979, the Israeli Supreme Court stated: “This is a situation of belligerency and the status of [Israel] with respect to the occupied territory is that of an Occupying Power.”[9] In 2002, the Israeli Supreme Court held yet again that the West Bank and Gaza Strip “are subject to a belligerent occupation by the State of Israel.”[10] In June, 2004, the Israeli Supreme Court reaffirmed that “since 1967, Israel has been holding [the West Bank] in belligerent occupation.”[11]

[9] 606 Il. H.C. 78, Ayub, et al. v. Minister of Defense, et al. (The Beth Case); 610 Il. H.C. 78, Matawa et al. v. Minister of Defense, et al. (The Bekaot Case), reprinted in Antoine Bouvier and Marco Sassoli, How Does Law Protect in War? Cases, Documents and Teaching Materials on Contemporary Practice in International Humanitarian Law, International Committee of the Red Cross, pps. 812-817, Geneva, 1999, hereinafter “ICRC 1999.”

[10] Adjuri v. IDF Commander, 7015 Il. H.C. 02, 7019 Il. H.C. 02 (2002).

[11] Beit Sourik Village Council v. Commander of the IDF Forces in the West Bank, 2056 Il. H.C. 04 at 1 (2004).

Sources re Danya Cebus construction in Maale Adumim in 2000 and Adam in 2003

Sources re Danya Cebus construction in Mattityahu East

Sources re Danya Cebus construction in Har Homa and Maale Adumim 2007

Sources re Boymlegreen management of Green Park project

Other Sources and Related Documentation

Sources re Danya Cebus construction in Maale Adumim in 2000 and Adam in 2003

-August 7, 2000 article in Globes re Danya Cebus contract to build in Maale Adumin

Danya Cebus Signs Contracts to Construct Apartments, Properties for NIS 600 Mln;
The deals are with Pritzker, Dankner, Gindi, Yaasour, Azorim, and Hefziba.

Globes [online] - Israel's Business Arena
August 07, 2000 Monday

BYLINE: Elazar Levin

Danya Cebus signed 17 contracts for construction of apartments and income-yielding real estate for NIS 600 million during January-June, almost all in key contracts as chief contractor. The amount of the deals is almost unprecedented in the sector. The company's turnover during all of 1999 was NIS 650 million. Most of the deals were at $80,000 per apartment, while only 30% of the cash deals were with the parent company, Africa-Israel.

The list does not include the deal for construction of 1,800 apartments for Resido in Beer Yaakov for NIS 470 million signed at the beginning of August. The following is a partial list of the deals:

The "Krayot" towns north of Haifa - 298 apartments for Pritzker and Dankner in Kiryat Bialik for NIS 100 million, 100 apartments for Azorim in Kiryat Yam for NIS 25 million.

Hod Hasharon - 209 apartments for Gindi and the Zeytuni family for NIS 70 million.

Herzliya - two residential buildings with 152 apartments in Tzamerot for Roni Yitzhaki for NIS 64 million.

Maale Adumim - 115 apartments for Yaasour for NIS 35 million, 60 apartments for Hefziba (Mordechai Yona) for NIS 18 million.

Jerusalem - 72 apartments for Azorim in Ramat Rahel for NIS 30 million, Power Center for Africa-Israel and Gandan in Talpiot (16,000 sq.m.) for NIS 20 million.

Published by Israel's Business Arena on August 6, 2000
www.globes.co.il

-June 15, 2003 article in Globes re Danya Cebus contract to build in Adam

Danya Cebus to build 753 apartments for Hefziba ;
The deal is worth NIS 180-200 million.

June 15, 2003 Sunday

BYLINE: Elazar Levin

Danya Cebus (TASE:DNYA) has signed a contract with Hefziba Building Development and Investment to be chief contractor for 753 apartments at seven sites. The deal is worth NIS 180-200 million. The deal is contingent on signed separate contracts for each site.

The largest project is the construction of 244 apartments at Moshav Matzliah, near Ramle. The other sites are in the Adam community settlement, Acre, Carmiel, Elad, Kfar Yonah, and Gan Yavne.

Danya Cebus will receive $60,000 per apartment.

Published by Globes [online]- www.globes.co.il - on June 15, 2003
www.globes.co.il

Sources re Danya Cebus construction in Mattityahu East

-July 31, 2008, Land Grabs and Lawsuits, The Montreal Mirror, Jesse Rosenfeld

http://www.montrealmirror.com/2008/073108/news2.html

According to a spokesperson from Green Park and Green Mount’s business partners Danya Cebus construction company, the two companies are owned by wealthy American businessman Shaya Boymelgreen. Danya Cebus received a subcontract for the Mattityahu East project in 2004 and the spokesperson says the two companies are part of Boymelgreen’s business conglomerate.

“Green Park and Green Mount—as part of the Boymelgreen group—subcontracted to Danya Cebus, with the [Israeli] government’s approval in awarding contracts,” says a Danya Cebus spokesperson. “Boymelgreen was the group that won the contract and Danya Cebus is acting as the subcontractor.”

A subsidiary of Africa Israel Investments LTD, Danya Cebus is owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev.

-Click here for contract in Hebrew showing Danya Cebus' responsibility for Mattityahu East homes

-August, 2006 Gaza Algazi article in Le Monde Diplomatique re Danya Cebus construction in Mattityahu East

Settlers on Israel’s Eastern Frontier
Complete Article: http://mondediplo.com/2006/08/04settlers

Monde Diplomatique, Gadi Algazi August, 2006

The residents of Bil’in face a powerful alliance of political and economic interests. Two neighbourhoods will be built on their stolen lands. The Green Park project is being constructed by Dania Cebus, a subsidiary of Africa-Israel Corporation, a real-estate investment firm owned by one of Israel’s most powerful businessmen, Lev Leviev.

-August 22, 2004 article in Globes re Danya Cebus contract to build in Mattityahu East

Canadian investors buy East Matityahu plot to build 2,500 apt units;
It is believed the investors will pay $22 million for the 235 acre plot. A $130 million contract has been signed with construction company Danya Cebus.

Copyright 2004 Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
Sunday, August 22, 2004

BYLINE: Elazar Levin

Two Canadian-Jewish investors have purchased a 235 acre plot in East Matityahu from businessman Shmuel Einav. The purchase effectively liquidates Einav's holdings in East Matityahu, a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) town currently under construction north of Modiin. The investors paid an estimated $22 million for the plot, on which they intend to build 2,500 apartment units.

Einav, once among the biggest landholders in Judea and Samaria, bought 250 acres from its Arab owners several years ago. At the time, he paid $5 million, at $20,000 per acre. He subsequently invested a great deal of money in improvement and development of the land, in addition to other expenses.

The estimated $22 million purchase price reflects a price tag of $8,000-9,000 per land per apartment, plus $6,500 for development per apartment.

Almost immediately, the Canadian investors signed a turnkey contract with construction company Danya Cebus (TASE:DNYA). At $52,000 per land per apartment, the contract comes to $130 million.

Published by Globes [online]- www.globes.co.il - on Sunday, August 22, 2004

-August 22, 2004 article in Globes re Danya Cebus plans to build and Africa-Israel plan to market homes in Mattityahu East

Danya Cebus to build $230m Upper Modi'in project;
An Urban Building Plan (UBP) has been approved for 1,500 housing units, and a UBP for an additional 3,000 units will be approved soon.

Copyright 2004 Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
Globes [online] - Israel's Business Arena
August 22, 2004 Sunday

BYLINE: Sharon Kedmi

Danya Cebus (TASE:DNYA) will build the $230 million Green Park project in the haredi (ultra-orthodox) town of Upper Modi'in, Danya Cebus CEO Itamar Deutscher announced last week. The company bought 939 dunam (234.75 acres) in the residential East Matityahu lot, zoned for the haredi community.

Danya Cebus's parent company, Africa-Israel Investments (TASE:AFIL), will market the project, which will comprise five-storey buildings with up to 26 apartments per buildings. The buildings will have garden apartments, penthouses, and three, four, and five-room apartments.

Deutscher said an Urban Building Plan (UBP) had been approved for 1,500 housing units, and a UBP for an additional 3,000 units would be approved soon. 800 housing units will be built in the first construction stage. Infrastructure work for 1,300 housing units is currently underway.
Published by Globes [online]- www.globes.co.il - on August 22, 2004
www.globes.co.il

-August 24, 2004 Globes article re Danya Cebus plans to build Mattityahu East

Africa-Israel: New York, New York;
CEO Pinchas Cohen plans more Big Apple buys but says he won't neglect Israeli real estate.

Globes [online] - Israel's Business Arena
August 24, 2004 Tuesday

BYLINE: Elazar Levin

"Globes" interviewed Africa-Israel Investments (TASE:AFIL) CEO Pinchas Cohen following the company's acquisition of a New York financial district skyscraper. Cohen talks about the company's strategic investments in Israel and overseas and the best deals in Manhattan.
"Globes": Where exactly is the building and who owned it?

Cohen: "At the sellers' request, we are not disclosing the building's precise location at this time. We will do so later. The building is owned by two well-established families, who bought it many years ago. We believe both parties made a good deal.

Is this the first time that you've bought an office building with the intention of converting to residential use?

"No. We bought an office building at 15 Broad St., Manhattan, last year for $120 million. We're now converting it to luxury apartments at a similar investment level. The Manhattan apartment market is very good, prices are high, and investments like these are worthwhile."
What is your real estate investment policy for New York?

"It's a long-term strategy. We already own 18 office buildings in New York, all of which are leased. Together with our investments in Miami, we have invested $3 billion. Africa-Israel is a large company in the North American real estate market. Our policy is to invest in the US alongside further real estate investments in Israel."

Aren't such large investments risky?

"The New York real estate market isn't just good - it's hot. You can lease almost any office building at a high return. It's not just us; other developers in the US are doing good business there. It is a fact that six large US banks agreed to finance the bulk of the investments. Success is based on three factors: keeping within a budget, meeting the timetable, and proper marketing. We've established a good engineering-marketing system, headed by Shaya Boymelgreen, who manages matters, together with our people in New York."

Will you make more investments in the US?

"We have plans to buy more real estate in New York and in cities in other states. We're a public company, so we cannot disclose details until the deals are signed."

Are you neglecting Israel?

"Heaven forbid! Our subsidiary, Danya Cebus (TASE:DNYA), recently signed a very large contract to build 2,500 apartments in Matityahu Mizrach (Upper Modi'in), for a $130 million investment. We have other investment plans in Israel, depending on the market climate. Both our divisions are busy: in Israel and overseas."
Published by Globes [online]- www.globes.co.il - on August 24, 2004
www.globes.co.il

Sources re Danya Cebus construction in Har Homa
and Maale Adumim 2007

-August 9, 2007 Ha’aretz article re Danya Cebus plans to complete construction in Har Homa and Maaleh Adumim

Hapoalim: Heftsiba is lying in its motion to halt legal steps
Complete Article: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/891458.html

Ha’aretz Daily, Nurit Roth and Shlomi Sheffer, August 9, 2007

The projects in question are in Har Homa, Jerusalem, which consists of 60 apartments, and the Nofei Sela project in Maaleh Adumim, which consists of 102 housing units. The apartments can be completed because of an agreement between the bank and the receiver on behalf of the Danya Cebus group, which is building both projects.

-August 9, 2007 Jerusalem Post article re Danya Cebus plans to complete construction in har Homa and Maale Adumim

Africa-Israel to complete building of two Heftsiba projects
Complete Article: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=
JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1186557403465

The Jerusalem Post, Matthew Krieger, August 9, 2007

Bank Hapoalim said Tuesday that Heftsiba customers who purchased apartments in Har Homa's "Meduragai Har Homa" and Ma'aleh Adumim's "Nofei Haselah," will be able to move in to their apartments following the completion of their construction, which will be carried out by the construction company Dania Sibus. The apartments are already at an advanced stage of construction, awaiting only to be connected to power and water lines. According to Hapoalim, Dania Sibus, a subsidiary of the holding company Africa-Israel, will do its utmost to complete the construction of the combined 162 residential units as quickly as possible.

-October 15, 2007 article in Jerusalem re court delay in Danya Cebus plans to complete construction in Har Homa and Maale Adumim

Court Blocks Hapoalim, Danya Cebus Deal
Complete Article: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=
JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1192380556221

The Jerusalem Post, Matthew Kreiger, October 15, 2007

The Tel Aviv District Court has blocked, temporarily, the August agreement reached between Bank Hapoalim and Africa-Israel's construction unit Danya Cebus under which the bank agreed to pay some NIS 10 million for the completion of 162 Heftsiba residential units that had been under construction when Heftsiba went bankrupt in July, the bank said on Sunday.

As soon as the agreement is approved by the court, the residential units, which are located in Ma'aleh Adumim and Har Homa, will be completed and the tenants will be permitted to take possession, the bank said, stipulating that tenants must complete all necessary paper work and payments before being handed the keys to the apartments.

-August 2, 2007 article in Globes on Heftsiba’s collapse and money Heftsiba owed to Danya Cebus for on-going projects

Heftsiba on verge of collapse;
Electra Real Estate has cancelled its acquisition deal. Heftsiba faces over NIS 1 billion in debt, as buyers overrun apartments and move in.

Globes [online] - Israel's Business Arena
August 2, 2007 Thursday
BYLINE: Ron Paz and Golan Fridenfeld

 

Amid deepening questions regarding Heftsiba Building Development & Investments Ltd.'s financial stability, and reports of hundreds of apartments being overrun by worried buyers, the real estate firm appears to be on the verge of collapse. Earlier today, Electra Ltd. (TASE: ELTR) announced that it has cancelled its acquisition of Heftsiba Building Development & Investments Ltd. and will try to recover both the NIS 30.1 million it paid for the company as well as $12.5 million in Heftsiba bonds in its possession. The company added that its maximum exposure to Heftsiba is NIS 170 million.

Pangaea Real Estate Ltd. (TASE:PNGD) also notified the TASE that it would not exercise its option to buy shares in Heftsiba Building.

Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY.PK) subsidiary Danya Cebus Ltd. (TASE: DNYA) also said that it was owed NIS 30 million by Heftsiba for past and ongoing work for the company.

Faced with debts of about NIS 1.25 billion, Heftsiba is set to turn to the courts to ask for stay of proceedings against it. Its collapse would leave suppliers and apartment buyers without much of their money. According to estimates, Heftsiba has NIS 450 million of current debts, including checks to suppliers that were dated through 2010; NIS 300 million of bonds issued to institutional investors; up to NIS 400 million in bank loans; NIS 30 million owed to Danya Cebus Ltd. (TASE: DNYA); and NIS 10 million owed to Solel Boneh.

While almost every Israeli bank has loaned money to Heftsiba, it appears that the biggest lender is Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT), which is allegedly owed NIS 120 million.

The company is owned by president Mordechai Yona and his son, Boaz Yona, who serves as CEO and chairman.

During the course of the day it was not possible to receive a response from Heftsiba.

Hundreds of families invaded apartments that the company built in Modi'in Ilit, a new haredi (ultra-orthodox) town, worried about Heftsiba's liquidity. Information obtained by "Globes" indicates that hundreds of families last night invaded the apartments that they had bought. At 6 am today, security guards, apparently hired by Heftsiba's receiver, arrived at the building site to ensure that no construction material would be stolen.

In the Ramat Heftsiba project in Beit Shemesh, dozens of apartment buyers, acting on rumors of Heftsiba's bankruptcy, took over their apartments which are still under construction. The police did not attempt any evacuations, saying they had not received a complaint from the company.
In addition, hundreds of company employees, who have not been paid for months, were notified that the company is bankrupt.

The Modi'in Ilit project, which is also known as Matityahu East (Kiryat Sefer), comprises 450 mostly three-room apartments in buildings of 5-6 floors each. The Modi'in Ilit Local Authority is located just east of the Green Line, near the city of Modi'in. The apartments have stood empty for 18 months, and may not legally be occupied following a High Court of Justice ruling in early 2006.
The Kiryat Sefer project was initiated by the Binyan Shalem NGO, which is affiliated with the Degel Hatorah party. Heftsiba Building was the chief contractor for the project. The apartment buyers, mostly poor and lower middle class haredi families paid $100,000 each for the apartments, into which they have not been able to move.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 2, 2007
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007

-August 23, 2007 article in Globes noting Danya Cebus plans to complete five projects started with Heftsiba

First ever quarterly loss for Danya Cebus;
Danya Cebus CEO: We're trying to minimize our exposure to Heftsiba. We're trying to complete our Heftsiba projects for their tenants.

Globes [online] - Israel's Business Arena
August 23, 2007 Thursday
BYLINE: Gil Shlomo and Roy Meltzer

Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY.PK) contracting subsidiary Danya Cebus Ltd. (TASE: DNYA) today published its financial report for the second quarter of 2007. The company posted its first ever quarterly loss, which it attributes to unpaid bills by Heftsiba Building Development & Investments Ltd., which collapsed in August.

Danya Cebus posted a pretax loss of NIS 28.4 million for Heftsiba projects. The result is a net loss of NIS 21.1 million for the second quarter, compared with a net profit of NIS 8.6 million for the corresponding quarter of 2006. Revenue totaled NIS 406.9 million for the second quarter, up 27% for the corresponding quarter.

The company's construction and infrastructure contracting orders backlog totaled NIS 3 billion at the end of June: NIS 1.6 billion in construction and NIS 1.4 billion in infrastructure contracting. Shareholders' equity totaled NIS 176.9 million at the end of June, NIS 50 million less than at the end of 2006, mostly because of a dividend distribution.

Danya Cebus CEO Ofer Kotler said, "The collapse of Heftsiba has created a business effect that must be analyzed and the lessons learnt. However, I don't think that it will affect the real estate industry as a whole, or have a material impact on Danya Cebus."

Kotler continued, "Heftsiba's collapse will mainly affect the regulators and the handling of interactions between developers, apartment buyers and the banks.
"We had considered in the past severing our ties with Heftsiba, but that would have been throwing out the baby with the bathwater. We've decided to try to minimize our exposure, and we'll reduce it to zero by year-end. Heftsiba's payment ethic was systematically poor, and we had problems collecting payment throughout my term as CEO."

"Globes": How do you see the future developments regarding Heftsiba?

Kotler: "The next stage will be to complete the projects now under construction, subject, of course, to approvals and all legal procedures. We're currently building five projects for Heftsiba. Our goal is to try to complete them so that the tenants can occupy their apartments. The fact that we placed guards on the apartments to prevent squatting was for the benefit of the tenants, because that's how we prevent vandalism."

What about the Israel Tax Authority investigation into your dealings with Heftsiba?

"As we notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, we have a professional dispute with the VAT authorities regarding the timing of accounting expenses for the projects we built for Heftsiba in recent years. I have nothing more to add to this subject."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 23, 2007
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007

Sources re Boymlegreen management of Green Park project

-July 31, 2008, Land Grabs and Lawsuits, The Montreal Mirror, Jesse Rosenfeld

http://www.montrealmirror.com/2008/073108/news2.html

According to a spokesperson from Green Park and Green Mount’s business partners Danya Cebus construction company, the two companies are owned by wealthy American businessman Shaya Boymelgreen. Danya Cebus received a subcontract for the Mattityahu East project in 2004 and the spokesperson says the two companies are part of Boymelgreen’s business conglomerate.

“Green Park and Green Mount—as part of the Boymelgreen group—subcontracted to Danya Cebus, with the [Israeli] government’s approval in awarding contracts,” says a Danya Cebus spokesperson. “Boymelgreen was the group that won the contract and Danya Cebus is acting as the subcontractor.”

A subsidiary of Africa Israel Investments LTD, Danya Cebus is owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev.

-July-August, 2006, OFFSHORE ZIONISM, New Left Review, Gadi Algazi

Complete Article: http://www.newleftreview.org/?view=2624

The main entrepreneurs involved in the expansion of Modi‘in Illit are Lev Leviev, one of Israel’s most powerful businessmen and an owner of Africa Israel Investments; Leviev’s business partner Shaya Boymelgreen, an American real-estate investor; Mordechai Yona, the former head of the Contractors Association; and Pinchas Salzman, an orthodox businessman.

-April 11, 2006, Flats Buyers in Modi'in Illit not to be harmed, Tsofar, No'am Adiri

Flats Buyers in Modi'in Illit not to be harmed
Original Hebrew: http://www.tsofar.com/printVersion.asp?article_id=504

By No'am Adiri
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
(Translation by Adalah-NY)

"Flats buyers in my residential project, Green Park, in Modi'in Illit, will not be harmed", developer and businessman Yeshayahu Boymelgreen promised. He said this in an interview for the religious weekly Ba'Kehila. Boymelgreen didn't say how many flats buyers are involved.

Construction at Green Park has recently been stopped, following a Court petition concerning ownership of the land. The petition is being discussed these days in Court. In the interview, Boymelgreen said: "I entered the project almost at the end of the road. Less than 100 flats remained to be sold. Some of the flats buyers have bank guarantees. I vouch “ no one among the flats buyers is to be harmed, even if he doesn't have a bank guarantee. Within 5 weeks, with the advance of the legal procedures, we will know better the status of the project."

In the interview, Boymelgreen also reveals that 40 years ago, he saved the Rabbi of Gur from drowning. Boymelgreen said that while he was a young juvenile, he went one morning to the sea, and found a Jew about to drown. He leaped and saved him, not knowing who he was. Only when he got to the shore and three attendants of the Rabbi hurried towards him, he found out that he saved the Rabbi of Gur, who went early in the morning to bathe in the sea.

Boymelgreen invested in recent months more than $400 million in real-estate in Israel. He bought the control in the building company Azorim for $318 million, bought the Assuta plot in north Tel Aviv for $47 million, and also bought 50% of Pollar Real-Estate for $42 million. In the Ba'Kehila interview, Boymelgreen speaks about his personal life and his donations, but not on his real-estate investments.

In the interview, Boymelgreen says he wouldn't come to live in Israel, since he has business in the USA, but from now on, he will spend longer periods of time in Israel. He explained that during the last year, he decided to invest in real-estate in Israel, since he doesn't want to have all his business in one country (USA), and if to invest in another country “ then in Israel.

Boymelgreen, born in Israel, lived here until age 17, went to the USA to study at a Khabad Yeshiva, and hasn't returned until now. He said the fact he knows the country and the language should help his investments here. Boymelgreen runs his business here from offices in the 25th floor of the Gibor Tower in Ramat-Gan.

He further said in the interview: "I don't know how to build, but I have an instinct for identifying the potential of every place and for finding out which type of building best suits each place".

In the interview, Yeshayahu Boymelgreen reveals some details of his life. He says that after graduating the Khabad Yeshiva, he looked for a job that doesn't require good English. He started working in a small diamond mine. Later he established a factory for the elimination of asbestos residues. About 10 years ago, he first entered the building sector, using "small fortune" earned in previous business. On September 2001, he established a joint company with Lev Leviev, where Leviev has 65% and Boymelgreen 35%. The company builds a series of projects, mostly residential, in New York.

Boymelgreen says “ perhaps hinting at Leviev "I don't have a private airplane". Yet he describes Leviev as "my good friend". He says Leviev advised him how much of his profits to give to charity, under the Jewish principle that 10% of every profit should be given to charity. Boymelgreen doesn't answer the question if the partnership between the two in the USA is to continue, even after Boymelgreen will run the Azorim building company “ a major competitor of Africa-Israel [owned by Leviev] in the residential building market in Israel.

-February 16, 2006 article in The Marker, Tel Aviv Comes up in the Sights of Jewish Real Estate Developers from New York

Tel Aviv Comes up in the Sights of Jewish Real Estate Developers from New York
Original Hebrew: http://sf.tapuz.co.il/shirshur-579-72413537.htm

Buy(in): The Marker (a section in the newspaper Ha'aretz) 16.2.06
(Translation by Adalah-NY)

The real estate market in Tel Aviv is heating up. In the past few days it became clear that the decline in the building of new projects ended in 2005, and just in two days here come along two big investors with interests in lands for building in Tel Aviv. A few days ago 'The Marker' published that the Israeli-New Yorker entrepreneur Ofer Yardeni plans to build 2,000 apartments in Tel Aviv worth 500 million dollars, and yesterday Shaya Boymelgreen announced that he is involved in negotiations for a huge deal in central Tel Aviv.

Yardeni owns 20 buildings with a total worth of a billion dollars shows that it is time to enter investments in real estate in Israel. It seems like Boymelgreen believes this too.

The company 'Boymelgreen Capital' (formerly Gambit) which was purchased not long ago by Boymelgreen announced yesterday that it is negotiating to obtain a territory of 9 dunams on which sits the hospital 'Asuta' on Jabotinsky Street in Tel Aviv for a sum of 47 million dollars.

Indeed, Shaya Boymelgreen entered the Israeli market through the main door only two months ago, but he was familiar with Israeli tycoons for a long time before. The ulta-orthodox entrepreneur partnered with Lev Leviev and 'Africa Israel' in the building of a hotel in Las Vegas, a 1.5 billion dollar investment. Boymelgreen invested also in a project less glamorous in Texas in the building of residential neighborhoods in partnership with Africa Israel, Dudi Weissman, and Shraga Biran.

In his last interview with 'The Marker' Boymelgreen said that he partnered with Leviev and Africa in projects in the U.S. amounting to no less than 8 billion dollars. The stocks in Gambit, of which he owns more than 80%, are not his first exposure to Israel. Of his investments in Israel, Green Park is noteworthy, a building project in Modi'in Illit, as well as a chain of stores selling clothing for ultra-orthodox kids called "Kiddie Chic."

Boymelgreen is a Chabad affiliate who left Israel as a young man, and lived today in Crown Heights in New York and is the master of a real estate empire in Israel. He's involved in the building of about 30 building sin Miami, Las Vegas, and Toronto. Recently Boymelgreen obtained the headquarter office of Chase Manhattan Bank in New York worth 170 million dollars. He has plans also to transform the dismal area around ground zero where the twin towers were to luxury residences and has hired Georgio Armani as the designer.

Recently Boymelgreen had also entered the banking sector, when he opened the first branch of Liberty Point Bank in New York. In the same interview he boasted that he will transform Liberty to the likes of the banking empire of the Safra family and proclaimed that Gambit is preparing to sign on "the best, most valuable, and most aristocratic property in Tel Aviv."

 

-May 8th, 2005, Chabad On-line

Boymelgreen is the controlling interest holder in the Green Park project
  Original Hebrew: http://www.col.org.il/show_news.rtx?artID=13305

The wealthy Chabadnik, Mr. Shaya Boymelgreen is the holder of controlling interest in the Green Park Project, which is proceeding and is located, these days, in Modi’in Illit. The project initiated from the wealthiest in Israel and will encompass 5,800 apartments, 3000 of which were authorized for construction immediately, according to what was revealed this weekend in the local Bnai Barak newspaper. Until now it was advertised that the controllers of the project are a group of investors from Canada, represented by the construction company Danya Cebus, a subsidiary of Africa/Israel. Now, it becomes clear for the first time that Mr. Shaya is the controlling interest holder of the project as his personal involvement was exposed, following his arrival during the summer holiday for a first visit to the project.

Other Sources and Related Documentation

$50 Million Private Investment In Ariel.
Excerpt: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4803/is_199906/ai_n17437220

1 June 1999
Israel Business Today
Volume 13; Issue 6

Ariel is Israel's largest city located far across the green line, (the border before the Six-Day War in 1967) arid has more than 16,000 residents. Some residents, as a result of the recent election in Israel and the change in government, are a bit apprehensive about the city's future. They received a welcome sign of relief when a private contracting company (Danya Cebus) announced that the company is negotiating to build 350 two family cottages in the city. The company will invest $50 million in the project and plans on selling each cottage for $130,000. An investment of this size will have a major impact on the local economy of the city; but far more important is the political statement that a project of this kind makes. If a private company is willing to make an investment of this size and believes it can find buyers for the cottages - even in a slow economy - it shows that the political and economic future of the city is assured.

Places like these need more demographic and economic investment to help them know they are on the map to stay.

FULL TEXT Israel "21" Publishers THIS IS THE FULL TEXT: COPYRIGHT
1999 Israel Business Communications Subscription: Published weekly.
Contact Sagit Publishing International Ltd., P.O. Box 30617, Tel
Aviv, Israel 61306. Phone (3) 376-666. FAX (3) 378-666. U.S. Contact
(212) 268-1690.

Israel's Wall Hems in Livelihoods -- and Dreams

USA Today, Aug. 8 2003
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-08-17-omar_x.htm

The fruits of his efforts lie on the wrong side of the separation fence

Meron Rapoport, Ha'aretz, Sept. 9 2007
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=900949

Update from Jayyous: Israeli settlement seizes Palestinian farmland

David Bloom, World War 4 Report, Dec. 10, 2004
http://www.ww4report.com/105/palestine/jayyous

Israelis hasten land grab in shadow of wall

Chris McGreal, UK Guardian, Dec. 14, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1372963,00.html

Letter from Jayyous

David Bloom, The Nation, Feb. 18, 2004
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040308/bloom

Under the Guise of Security: Routing the Separation Barrier to Enable the Expansion of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank

B'Tselem -Bimkom, December 2005
http://www.btselem.org/Download/200512_Under_the_Guise_of_Security_Eng.pdf

Lidar website advertising houses in Zufim:

http://www.webadmin.co.il/clients/lider/

Leviev Loses Quarry Case

Ha'aretz, Aug. 29, 2004

Fenced Out

Ada Ushpiz, Ha'aretz, 16 Sept. 2005
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=8350

Security or greed

Avraham Tal, Ha'aretz, Apr. 4 10 2006
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=707219

Settlers on Israel's eastern frontier

Gadi Algazi, Le Monde Diplomatique, Aug. 2006
http://mondediplo.com/2006/08/04settlers

"The Settler National Fund", Yediot Aharonot,

Shosh Mula and Ofer Petersburg, Jan. 27 2005.
http://www.peacenow.org/hot.asp?cid=247

One Palestinian Village Struggles Against Israel's Ever-Expanding "Settlements"

By Mohammed Khatib, AlterNet. Sept. 26, 2007.
http://www.alternet.org/story/63640/

Help Us stop Israel's Wall Peacefully

Mohammed Khatib, International Herald Tribune, July 12, 2005
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/11/opinion/edkhatib.php

Getting Carried Away

Larry Derfner, The Jerusalem Post, May 7, 2006
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961277201&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Gandhi Redux

Meron Rapaport, Ha'aretz, June 9 2005
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=586551

Legitimization of Land Theft

Ha'aretz Editorial, Feb. 27 2007
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/830963.html

Hapoalim: Heftsiba Is Lying In Its Motion To Halt Legal Steps

Nurit Roth and Shlomi Sheffer, Ha'aretz, Aug 9 2007
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/891458.html

Africa-Israel To Complete Building Of Two Heftsiba Projects

Matthew Krieger, The Jerusalem Post, Aug 9 2007
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1186557403465

$50 Million Private Investment In Ariel

Israel Business Today, June, 1999
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4803/is_199906/ai_n17437220

Advisory Opinion, International Court of Justice at the Hague

July 9 2004.
http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/c25aba03f1e079db85256cf40073bfe6/3740e39487a5428a85256ecc005e157a!OpenDocument

LAND GRAB: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank

May 2002
http://www.btselem.org/Download/200205_Land_Grab_Eng.pdf

$50 Million Private Investment In Ariel.$50 Million Private Investment In Ariel.

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