[Peace-discuss] boycott Ahava settler cosmetics in Champaign...?

[Robert Naiman]

So, as presumably you all know, there is a worldwide campaign to
boycott the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and one component is a
consumer boycott.

In the U.S., the most compelling aspect of the consumer boycott is the
"Stolen Beauty" campaign against Ahava cosmetics.

from http://www.stolenbeauty.org/

"What international laws does AHAVA violate?
The company’s main factory and its visitors’ center are located in the
Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem in the Occupied West Bank. Ahava
products are labeled as of 'Israeli origin,’ but according to
international public law, the West Bank cannot be considered to be
part of the State of Israel.
Ahava uses in its products mud from the Dead Sea, excavated in an
occupied area, and thus it exploits occupied natural resources for
profit, which is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

So, I asked a friend who knows something about cosmetics to do a
little research on my behalf, on the question: anyone selling this
stuff in Champaign-Urbana? This is the response I got:

"This is the only store in CU (never heard of it...)
ULTA 2023 N. Prospect Ave Champaign IL 61822 217-355-5234"

Anyone here interested in pursuing this? Here are some things we could do -

- have some people scout the store, to confirm that they sell this stuff
- send a letter from a bunch of people, asking the store to stop
carrying this stuff
- try to get a meeting
- circulate an online petition in Champaign-Urbana, calling on the
store to stop carrying stuff and calling on people not to shop at the
store until they stop carrying it
- have a demonstration there and leaflet people going into the store

?

There's a list of action ideas here:

http://www.stolenbeauty.org/section.php?id=444





-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org