Dedicated shopper tells Nordstrom that regardless of how the issue of labeling is handled under lax U.S. customs regulations, the fact remains that the Ahava factory is located in occupied Palestinian territory.
April 9, 2010
Dear Tara and Linda,
In follow-up to our email conversations about Ahava, while I await a
copy of the customs documentation that Elizabeth DeMaria said she'd ask
her corporate office for permission to send to me, I thought it important
to clarify with you that regardless of how bureaucratic and/or private
entities may have finessed the issue of labeling vis a vis customs, there
still exists the fact that the Ahava factory is located in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories and not in Israel. Therefore, the request remains
for Nordstrom to stop carrying Ahava on the factual grounds that it is
a product of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and should be labeled
as such. Customers who are interested in human rights and the rule of
law have a right to know which products are contributing to violations
of human rights and international law - which is true for all products
that support any and all settlement endeavors. Ahava's products are clearly
- no matter what their customs designation - made in an illegal Israeli
settlement in violation of international law. The policies that enable
Ahava's products prohibit the indigenous Palestinians from accessing their
own land. The resources used to make Ahava products are Palestinian resources
(in addition to being endangered resources).
The mislabeling of Ahava products is not a matter of opinion. It is,
simply, fact. Here, from Wikipedia, for example: Mitzpe Shalem ( lit.
Shalem Lookout) is an Israeli settlement and kibbutz located about 1 km
from the western shores of the Dead Sea in the eastern West Bank. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitzpe_Shalem
Take a look at the map provided on this page. You can see Mizpe Shalem
clearly denoted in the Occupied West Bank area.
Under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel's settlements
are illegal (The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of
its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/380-600056
) and are thusly considered by - I think it's fair to say - all of the
international community.
Previous and current US Administrations considered and still consider
Israel's illegal settlements a major impediment to peace: www.cmep.org/documents/settlements.htm
Anyway, international law would overrule all US law as "Supreme
law of the land" by virtue of Article Six of the US Constitution:
"…all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority
of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges
in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or
Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A6.html
Therefore, I and the thousands of others who emailed you, will continue
to call for Nordstrom to abide by the letter and spirit of your Social
Responsibility Guidelines.
Even Israeli women are alerting people to products like Ahava that support
and prolong the cruel practices and policies of Israel's 43-year occupation
of Palestinian land and lives. Please visit the Israeli Coalition of Women
for Peace's website
www.whoprofits.org
And please do visit also the website I referred you to in my original
letter of request, B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human
Rights in the Occupied Territories http://www.btselem.org/English/Settlements/
Also the perspective on illegal settlements of the Jewish-American organization
Americans for Peace Now http://peacenow.org/apn-positions/settlements.html
Why would Nordstrom insist on supporting policies that violate human
rights and international law? And endanger American lives and interests,
something even General Petraeus recently acknowledged? http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/14/the_petraeus_briefing_biden_s_embarrassment_is_not_the_whole_story
I've been a Nordstrom shopper from head to toe, literally, since I came
to Washington in 1995. I have four pair of Joseph Siebel shoes; and nearly
every day wear the Alexis Bittar lucite hoop earrnings I'd bought a couple
months ago. My everyday purse is a Hobo bag from Nordstrom; my everyday
watch, a wide-band Anne Klein. All bring many compliments, as do my Misook
pieces. The majority of my blouses and sweaters are Eileen Fisher, all
from Nordstrom with the exception of one from the Eileen Fisher Seattle
store. All lovely (and expensive items) that I've proudly divulged as
having come from Nordstrom.
Now my existing Nordstrom attire will provide an opening to a "teaching
moment" about Nordstrom's Social Responsibility policies…and,
I hope, soon, about Nordstrom's ethics to abide by those policies.
Sincerely,
Linda Frank
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