Dear Friends,

The South African retail outlet, Wellness Warehouse, has actively chosen to trade with Israel's AHAVA Laboratories -  a company operating in Israel's illegal settlements and in contravention of international law.

 

In addition, by trading with AHAVA, Wellness Warehouse violates the international boycott of Israel - in 2005 Palestinians issued a call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel as a non-violent method to have Israel end its apartheid policies*, cease its illegal occupation and abide to international law. The human rights organization, Open Shuhada Street (OSS), has been engaging with Wellness Warehouse for over two years now to end its trading (and complicity) with Israel's AHAVA Laboratories. Join this weekend's BDS protest organized by OSS together with students from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and other activists urging Wellness Warehouse to do the right thing and drop AHAVA Laboratories. The protest takes place this Saturday in Cape Town: 

 

DATE: Saturday, 13 October 2012 (11h30)
STORE: Wellness Warehouse
ADDRESS: 50 Kloof Street, Cnr. Kloof & Park Rd, Cape Town
FACEBOOK EVENT: www.facebook.com/bdssouthafrica/posts/418455714874408

 

AHAVA also falls short of the upcoming Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Government Notice preventing the false labeling of Israeli products manufactured by companies, such as AHAVA Laboratories, in Israel's illegal settlements (which are situated, unlawfully, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories). Products, such as AHAVA are falsely labeled as "Made in Israel" when instead they should be labeled "Made in illegal Israeli settlement in Occupied Palestinian Territories". In fact, AHAVA has been specifically mentioned, by name, in the recent DTI government notice as one of those companies guilty of false Israeli labeling.

 

Due to its complicity in, and profiteering from, the unlawful Israeli Occupation of Palestinian lands, AHAVA has become a key target of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel movement:

 

- In the USA, the campaign against AHAVA has taken on many creative protests led by women such as Nancy Krickorian and the CodePink Stolen Beauty Campaign; (www.stolenbeauty.org/section.php?id=444)

- In July 2009, Oxfam, the international confederation of organisations from more than 90 countries, suspended Sex and the City star, Kristin Davis, from doing publicity work for  Oxfam because of Davis' endorsement contract with AHAVA; (http://mondoweiss.net/2009/08/boycott-campaign-pays-off-as-oxfam-suspends-tv-star-kristin-davis.html)

- In the UK, AHAVA has been forced to shut down its flagship store in Covent Garden, London, due to consistent boycott actions; (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4125530,00.html)

- Although sometimes claiming other factors, AHAVA has been dropped by the online store Costco, the UK retail retailer John Lewis, the National Cathedral Gift Shop in the USA, and, earlier this year by major Canadian retailer, The Bay; (http://rabble.ca/news/2011/01/bay-drops-ahava-victory-boycott-divestment-and-sanctions-movement-canada)

- In February this year, the Japanese agent of AHAVA announced that it has ended all sales of AHAVA products due to legal and ethical concerns; (http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-victory-ahava-products-spiked-japan-because-legal-and-ethical-issues)

- A month after the Japan boycott of AHAVA, the major Norwegian retail chain, VITA, announced that it, too, will stop sales of all Ahava products across the country; (http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-victory-ahava-products-dropped-major-retail-chain-norway)

- In July 2012, Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of Roy Disney (co-founder of the Walt Disney company) disclaimed her share of her family’s R96 million investment in AHAVA; (www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/disney-family-member-renounces-her-investments-in-israel-s-ahava-cosmetics-1.451506)

 

- Most recently, the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, comprising of over 2 million members, voted on the 08th of July 2012 to specifically boycott Israel's AHAVA Laboratories; (www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000763491&fid=1725)

 

If you are not in Cape Town you can still play a role. AHAVA is sold in other South African stores such as Truworths, Stuttafords, Foshini and elsewhere. Approach these stores explaining that we wish that neither the store nor its customers are complicit in Israel's violations of international law and insist that AHAVA is immediately removed from their shelves (find a model letter that can be downloaded and printed on our website: http://tinyurl.com/8vgufls). Link up with other community members to stage similar pickets and protests in your area against stores that choose to be complicit with AHAVA and in the illegal Israeli Occupation of Palestine. If you are still not convinced, watch this YouTube interview with Jewish American human rights worker, Anna Baltzer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=okF6COV56no

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA (BDS SOUTH AFRICA)
Office 915 | 9th Floor | Khotso House | 62 Marshall Street | Johannesburg
PO Box 2318 | Houghton | 2041 | Johannesburg
T: +27 (0) 11 492 2414 | F: +27 (0) 86 650 4836
W: www.bdssouthafrica.com | E: administrator@bdssouthafrica.com
www.facebook.com/bdssouthafrica | www.twitter.com/bdssouthafrica

BDS South Africa is a registered Non-Profit Organization. NPO NUMBER: 084 306 NPO
BDS South Africa is a registered Public Benefit Organisation with Section 18A status. PBO NUMBER: 930 037 446