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U.S. Boycott Actions
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See
our inspired Stolen Beauty actions below! You can view
more on our Local Spotlight and post your own! |
August 9,2014
Nordstrom banner drop in Tampa, Florida |
November 23, 2012
On Black Friday, 8 of us in Marin handed out fliers outside Bed Bath
and Beyond, requesting people not to buy SodaStream or Ahava. We worked
in pairs for a total of 6 hours. Pictured here is 83-year-old Edie, charming
a local shopper into boycotting SodaStream. Thanks everyone who volunteered
that day! With 4 other activities for Palestine going on in SF on the
same day, was grateful to get 8 volunteers.
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November 23, 2012
On Black Friday, members of Bay Area CODEPINK and allies went to Union
Square in San Francisco to remind shoppers to make thoughtful purchases
and avoid buying Sodastream and Ahava, two products that are made in illegal
Israeli settlements. In the wake of the bombings in Gaza, we wished to
spread our message of peace and justice in the hopes of helping to stop
the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.
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November 15, 2012
DS San Diego says SHOP IN
THE NAME OF LOVE, don't buy
Ahava
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April 2, 2012
Land
Day protest in Seattle of sales of Ahava and SodaStream at Nordstrom
Seattle-area citizens commemorated Palestinian Land Day (March 30th, 2012)
with a march and BDS flashmob during Friday evening rush hour, in the
downtown shopping center. Activists first entered Nordstrom, dispersed
throughout the first floor beauty products area, and enacted an Occupy-style
conversation, with a “mic check” and an explanation of why Nordstrom shoppers
should not support apartheid by buying Ahava cosmetics. The entire first
floor of Nordstrom stopped to listen to the short but informative speech,
and the activists sang “Boycott Israeli Goods” to the tune of “Down by
the Riverside” as they walked out of the store. More...
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December 10, 2011
BDS
Brides Ahava and SodaStream flash mob at Bed, Bath & Beyond in Marin,
California: On Saturday, December 10, International Human Rights Day,
2011, a flash mob took over the wedding registry section of the Bed Bath
& Beyond in Larkspur, CA. The flash mob consisted of a mock wedding
in which four brides committed to boycott illegal Israeli settlement products,
namely Ahava cosmetics and SodaStream home carbonation systems, and local
Reverend Dr. Walt Davis pronounced the brides "married to a life
of peace and justice." The Justice Voices choir sung a parody of
"Ode to Joy" that asked Bed Bath & Beyond to deshelve these
products. Store employees asked the flash mobbers to leave the store and
called the police. No arrests were made. Caroling continued outside the
store where the group received positive feedback from holiday shoppers.
The goal of the action was to raise public awareness and ask Bed Bath
& Beyond CEO Steven Temares to stop selling products that are in clear
violation of international law. Consumers have a right to know the ugly
truth behind Ahava beauty products: they're stealing Palestinian land!
SodaStream is marketed as an environmentally responsible product, but
the destruction of life, land and peace brought about by this settlement
industrial zone is anything but environmentally responsible. Save a few
plastic bottles at the expense of trashing Palestinian land and people?
We don't think so.
December, 2011 marked three years since the Israeli assault on Gaza that
killed 1,400 innocent civilians. To end the Israeli occupation, our best
hope is supporting the inspiring nonviolent Palestinian movement for justice,
the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
“I invited the CODEPINK women to Marin so that we could do a boycott
action at our local Bed, Bath, and Beyond,” said Jane Jewell, founder
of 14 Friends of Palestine and Justice Voices. “BDS is one of the most
important non-violent activities we can do to oppose the cruel Israeli
Occupation of Palestine that causes such terrible suffering to the Palestinian
people. I consider it the duty of those of us who enjoy a life of freedom
and privilege to help those who do not. If I lived under horrendous oppression
like the Palestinians do, I would like to think that somewhere in the
world there were people looking out for me. "
The action was coordinated by 14 Friends of Palestine, CODEPINK Women
for Peace, and Keep Hope Alive.
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December 9, 2011
Los Angeles Caroling Action: It only takes a few people
to cause a ruckus – really only one, but we were lucky then to have five.
Although it was barely 5pm on a Friday the West LA sky was dark, pierced
by streetlights, advertisements, the high beams of traffic. But we were
visible under the neon glow of the Bed, Bath & Beyond sign and that
harsh glow of a box store. We were decked out in our caroling gear with
cardboard placards expressing clear messages to Bed, Bath & Beyond:
“Dump Illegal Israeli Settlement Products Ahava and SodaStream”, “There
is Nothing Friendly about Occupation – Boycott SodaStream”, “Ahava is
Dirty Business.”
Both SodaStream and Ahava are produced in Israeli settlements, illegal
as all are in the occupied West Bank. However, both products are marked
made in “Israel” while Bed, Bath & Beyond stocks both. We are not
strangers to the store, having delivered our letters urging store managers
and the CEO to discontinue carrying the illegal products. We have also
performed our BDS marriage ceremony there, committing ourselves to a life
dedicated to peace and justice while pledging to boycott the bridal registry
until Ahava and SodaStream are gone. This evening the store manager, one
I had never seen and looking annoyed, asked, “May I help you?” Oh, yes,
you may…
Our carols ranged from the somber to the hilarious.
This was our Jingle Bells:
Building settlements
On confiscated lands,
Selling beauty creams,
Blood mixed in with mud.
No No No!
Making lots of dough,
Ignoring human rights
What a shame it is to shop
for Ahava tonight! -HEY! |
Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah became:
Ahava oh Ahava
Destruction you're sowing
Stealing the land
where the crops all are growing
Mining from the Dead Sea, is
theft and deceit
You know ethnic cleansing is
hardly a treat |
Although passersby did not join in the singing, a woman who was en route
to buy SodaStream as a holiday gift for her nephews told us they would
be getting marshmallow shooters instead.
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September 6, 2011
U.S.
Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation Blog about CODEPINK Boston Lord
and Taylor Protest, 8 September 2011
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July 7, 2011
Ahava boycott action in New York City: We started with about 30 people
outside the Ricky's store on 14th Street, where Adalah-NY's inimitable
Alexis, Allison and Riham lead us through the BDS Song Sheet. After about
a half hour, the Stolen Beauty Bikini Brigade (the fabulous Alli, Cristina,
Melanie and Malak) and Todd on drums lead our march to Union Square South.
Meeting up with the Women in Black vigil already under way, more supporters
joined us, swelling our numbers to about 60. For the final half hour,
a small group of about 15 followed the Bikini Brigade over to another
Ricky's store on 6th Avenue and 11th Street. Over the course of the protest,
we handed out 1,000 fliers and talked with dozens of people who wanted
to understand the connections between our protest, Ricky's NY, Ahava cosmetics
and violations of international law. Our amazing coalition included members
of Brooklyn for Peace, CODEPINK NYC, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews Say
No, and Women in Black Union Square who came out to help take the profit
out of occupation.
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July 7, 2011
Bed, Bath & Beyond: Honor international law by dumping illegal settlement
products AHAVA and SodaStream in Los Angeles, CA!
After delivering a letter to Nordstrom on the 7th of July asking that
it stop stocking illegal Israeli settlement product AHAVA, we moved on
to Bed, Bath & Beyond.The box store continues to face pressure from
the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions movement, and the Stolen Beauty
Campaign, for its disregard of human rights when sourcing its products.
We found a great location in West Los Angeles for getting public engagement
on our boycott of settlement products campaign, including AHAVA &
SodaStream, including lots of foot traffic from Cedar's Sinai Medical
Center. Our amazing signs created by LA's Art Intern Dara and our simple
question engaged passersby: would you like to know why we're standing
here…The LA chapters of Jews for Peace and Jewish Voice for Peace are
staples at these co-sponsored events and held their signs decrying occupation
as “not kosher”.
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March 14, 2011
Protesting Ahava at the Natural Products
Expo West 2011 in Anaheim, California, by Jodie Evans
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February 10-15, 2011
As part of our second annual Valentine's Day of action for
Palestinian rights and against Ahava's occupation profiteering, and in conjunction
with Stop
the Wall's day of remembrance of Jawaher Abu Rahme, Stolen Beauty activists
on both coasts held events. See reports below:
Washington, D.C. (2/10/11)
Washington, D.C. participated in an AHAVA action at a local Bed Bath
& Beyond. A small group of us entered the stores all decked out in
pink bathrobes. We announced that AHAVA products are made on illegal settlements,
before breaking into song and dance in front of the customers. We concluded
with a conversation with the manager. He was welcome to hearing more about
the situation in Palestine and the truth about AHAVA products.
More photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/codepinkalert/sets/72157625902074293/
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New York, New York (2/14/11)
On
the evening of Valentine's Day, six of us, representing CODEPINK NYC,
Adalah-NY, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Women in Black/Union Square, gathered
for an Ahava boycott online action party in a Morningside Heights apartement.
We visited the sites of online retailers that sell Ahava products and
added customer comments explaining the details of Ahava's illegal practices.
We were inspired by our sisters in the Dutch Bathrobes Brigade, who started
these online action parties last year as a fun, easy way to help educate
consumers and to take the profit out of occupation.
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Los Angeles, California (2/15/11)
Stolen
Beauty Online Action House Party: “What an amazing way of doing activism!”
This exclamation came from one of the CODEPINK crew who showed up for
justice on a dreary Venice afternoon. We gathered at the CODEPINK House
holding our laptops next to tables of candles, humus (not Sabra!), and
fruit. The living room was decorated in pinks and purples for our “day
after Valentine's” Stolen Beauty online house party. The target was Ahava
Dead Sea Laboratories, the Israeli settlement-based cosmetics company
that stamps “Made In Israel” on its Dead Sea products that are in fact
manufactured in the Occupied West Bank. For two hours we visited websites
such as Amazon, Rite Aid, drugstore.com, Zappos, etc, that sell Ahava
cosmetics online. We wrote reviews for products, helping to expose Ahava
for making money off the occupation of Palestinian land.
Messages included:
- “Ahava Mud Exfoliator can't strip away Ahava's ugly
occupation profiteering. Support human rights. Don't buy Ahava. www.stolenbeauty.org”
- “Ahava is based in an illegal settlement in the Occupied West Bank.
Even Israeli peace groups have called for a boycott of settlement products.
Don't buy Ahava's occupation profiteering.”
- “Ahava means love in Hebrew, but Ahava cosmetics are made in a factory
on occupied land. There is no love in occupation.”
Finding comments like these posted online by other activists around the
country was so exciting; we were all connected in this simple online action.
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San Francisco, California (2/15/11)
On
Tuesday, February 15th, four Bay Area CODEPINKers and one lovely volunteer
from Jewish Voice for Peace gathered at Dolores Park Cafe in San Francisco
for an hour of Ahava boycott online activism. With help from the Online
Action Toolkit and our own wit, the five of us visited sites like Amazon.com,
Ulta.com and several beauty blogs, we conveyed the message that "no
one should love Ahava products.” In an attempt to have some fun with the
situation, and perhaps aided by the lingering sugar rushes from Valentine's
Day, we added our own "Con" categories on websites, writing
that "violation of international law" and "bad karma"
are attached to the purchase and manufacture of Ahava.
As an added bonus to the surge of delight felt post-boycott action, we
were able to attend a "Pinkwashing" event hosted by the Arab
Resource Organizing Center featuring Queer Palestinian Youth. The event
highlighted the struggles this community feels not only because of their
status as Palestinian in a hostile environment, but because of their sexuality
in a hostile world. Both events, the online boycott party and the "Pinkwashing"
event, were extremely successful in enlightening people about the reality
of the world around us.
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January 10, 2011
On January 10, Bay Area activists created a "bathrobe brigade"
action to ask Bed Bath & Beyond to stop carrying Ahava products, which
the store recently started carrying during the holiday shopping season.
The group of women donned bathrobes and towels and performed a flashmob
dance and song to the tune of South Pacific's "Gonna Wash That Man
Right Outta My Hair". They delivered the letter to the store manager
and she said she would pass it on to corporate HQ. See
video and check out photos.
The action was covered on KTVU Channel 2 news. The story was also posted
to Demotix.com.
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December 19, 2010
Boycott AHAVA Holiday Caroling in Los Angeles:
A group of CODEPINKers dressed in pink spa attire converged
outside a store that carries AHAVA in LA to sing holiday carols. One of
the store's owners came out of his shop, pushed us, threatened to dump
a bowl of dog water on our heads, and grabbed our banner and threw it
over CODEPINK cofounder Jodie's head. When we all went into the store
to deliver the letter asking the store to stop carrying Ahava, the owner
locked us in the store and said he was holding us, basically kidnapping
us, until the police arrived. Luckily we were able to push our way out
the front door and as the cops arrived they scolded the store owner for
this clearly unlawful behavior. This is America, people are allowed to
demonstrate on the sidewalks and sing, last time we checked.
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December 15, 2010
CODEPINK and SF residents sing a holiday
carol to a store asking them to stop selling Ahava. Ahava's
products are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. Don't
let the made in Israel sticker fool you!
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December 11, 2010
CODEPINK Boston singing Ahava boycott carols
at Lord & Taylor:
"Ahava is spoiling our town" (sung to the tune of Santa Claus
is coming to town)
Oh, you'd better not shop, you'd better not buy
Each dollar spent here helps, Fund apartheid
Ahava is spoiling our town
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July 23, 2010
CODEPINKers and allies staged an action
at Beauty Brands in the heart of Kansas City to kick off
the annual national US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation conference.
Beauty Brands sent someone down from their KC-based corporate headquarters
to talk with demonstrators. The peaceful demonstration ended with an outside
demo and chorus singing of a parody of "Hava Nagila" called
"Don't Buy Israeli" created by Adalah-NY.
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July 19, 2010
Inside
the Cosmetics convention, Ahava boss denies the Occupation,
by Nancy Kricorian, July 22, 2010
On Monday, July 19th, Jodie Evans of CODEPINK and supporter Zissa went
to the Cosmetics Professionals (COSMOPROF) Convention at the Mandalay
Bay Hotel in Las Vegas to confront Ahava North America CEO Michael Etedgi
for the second year in a row. Last July, Jodie and another woman did a
bikini and mud protest in the Ahava booth at the convention. This year
they were hoping to have a dialogue with Etedgi and to educate more cosmetics
professionals about the illegal practices of Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories.
More...
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July 9, 2010
CODEPINK LA Action Report by Bonnie Johnson:
Today Inez and I visited a couple of the shops where I
called and sent letters this week. At the first place the manager and
owner were out, but we talked to a retail clerk who was very concerned
to hear about the issue and promised to give our info to her bosses. She
also gave us their schedules and tips on a couple of other places she'd
seen carrying Ahava. We thanked her and left.
At the second place, the owner, with whom I'd spoken on the phone, was
there by himself. He said he was an Israeli Zionist, called us anti-Semites
and told us we were supporting terrorists (he also called me personally
a "bimbo" and a "hooker"). He suggested what we could
do with our letter and ordered us out of his store. Since there were no
shoppers inside anyway we positioned ourselves on the sidewalk with our
banner (I got a nice photo of Inez above) and gave leaflets to passersby.
He helped draw attention to us by coming out and honking a horn
in our ears after threatening to call the police. We conversed
with pedestrians and got a couple beeps from cars, even as the irate man
stood between us and yelled. When we had to leave we cheerfully told him
we'd be back and he not-so-cheerfully gave us the finger.
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July 9, 2010
Battle Over Ricky's Cosmetics
CODEPINK joins Brooklyn for Peace protesters outside another Ricky's
store.
See related article for more: Mud-slinging
on Montague! Protesters say Ricky's backs Israel's ‘illegal' occupation,
The Brooklyn Paper.
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May 25, 2010
Demonstration Outside Ricky's
CodePink-NYC and Adalah-NY staged another raucous demonstration
in front of 2 stores in the Ricky's chain – one on 3rd Avenue and one
on East 14th Street in Manhattan. Ricky's continues to carry the Ahava
line of creams and lotions that is manufactured in an occupied West Bank
colony using stolen Palestinian mineral resources taken from the area
near the Dead Sea. More...
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April 24, 2010
AHAVA boycott action in Austin, Texas
More than 30 people carried picket signs in front of the Gateway
Shopping Center in Austin on Saturday, April 24, urging shoppers to boycott
ULTA Beauty for refusing to take Ahava Dead Sea cosmetics off their shelves.
The Austin protests, which began the previous week at the Sunset Valley
ULTA store, are part of an international campaign to call attention to
resources taken from illegal Israeli settlements. The UN has declared
the Israeli settlements in Palestine to be a violation of international
law and Ahava violates the fourth Geneva Convention by exploiting Palestine's
natural resources.
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April 17, 2010
AHAVA boycott action in Austin, Texas
Pink Police officers declared ULTA a crime scene and cordoned off
the Ahava section while about 15 "shoppers" with messages on
their shopping bags performed a freeze in the middle of the store. Pink
Police asked people in the store to boycott ULTA until they remove all
Ahava products from their shelves. A sidewalk protest was held immediately
following the action.
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March 31, 2010
Manhattan, NYC AHAVA Boycott Action outside Ricky's
NY
Members of CODEPINK NYC, Adalah-NY, Women in Black Union Square
and other groups protested outside two Ricky's NY stores calling
on Ricky's CEO Dominick Costello to stop selling AHAVA cosmetics.
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March 30, 2010
Washington, D.C. Lord & Taylor Action
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March 27, 2010
Arlington, VA store action
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September 19, 2009:
CODEPINK protest - Union Station, Washington, DC
Activists staged a protest action inside of and also in front of
an upscale shop located in Union Station, in Washington, DC. The store carries
products of Ahava, “Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories,” an Israeli company. |
July 29, 2009:
CODEPINKers protest AHAVA in upscale DC beauty shops
Read Press
Advisory
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July 28, 2009:
CODEPINK LA AHAVA action in Santa Monica
CODEPINKers Jodie Evans, Susan Adelman led
a group of protesters at this action.
Pretty
upset, Santa Monica Daily Press, July 29, 2009 |
July 21, 2009:
CODEPINK Launches its "Stolen Beauty Campaign" at AHAVA Store
in Nordstroms at Las Vegas Fashion Mall
CODEPINKers Jodie and Parislaunched our
campaign with a dramatic protest, which included signs and chants at the
Ahava booth inside the beauty industry's annual major Cosmoprof conference
in Las Vegas, and called on the Israeli company to end its exploitation
of the Occupied West Bank and to follow international law.
Read
the story here and the press
release here.
See more
action photos here! |
June
14, 2009:
Educating the NYC Public!
On the sands of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism's Tel Aviv Beach,
bikini-clad CODEPINK activists covered themselves
in mud to expose Israel's dirty occupation of Palestine. The
beach event aims to boost U.S. tourism to Israel and clean up Israel's
image just months after its devastating 22-day assault on Gaza that killed
more than 1,400 Gazans, injured 5,300, destroyed approximately 4,000 homes
and displaced 50,000 people into temporary U.N. shelters.
The bikini-clad CODEPINK women distributed
info exposing Israeli Dead Sea cosmetics company AHAVA, which uses mud
illegally extracted from and packaged in the Occupied Territories. "Despite
its name, (Ahava means "love" in Hebrew), there is nothing loving
about a company that profits from stolen resources and oppressed people,”
says CODEPINK coodinator Rae Abileah
who organized a protest of AHAVA in Tel Aviv last week.“We will
paint ourselves with mud to expose the dirty practices of AHAVA and the
Israeli government.”
From Fox News:
Bikini-Clad
Activists Crash Tel Aviv Beach Party, by Erica Emmich, June 21, 2009
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June 10, 2009:
Educating Kristin Davis!
Sex & The City star and Oxfam ambassador Kristin Davis receives
a letter from CODEPINK activist Dana Balicki
at an Ahava beauty products promotional event at Lord & Taylor in
New York City. Davis is a paid spokesperson for Ahava, which
obtains and manufactures its products in an illegal Israeli settlement
in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. CODEPINK
is asking Davis to educate herself about the facts of Ahava's criminal
theft and exploitation.
Dana Balicki said, “I told Kristin that her admirable work as
an Oxfam Ambassador is undermined by her allowing AHAVA to use her good
name and beautiful face to cover up their crimes.”
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June 6, 2009:
Protest against AHAVA, Hilton Hotel, Tel aviv, Israel
See
photos and View
video of our action at an Ahava store in Tel Aviv.
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