Ahava Beauty Products promises “beauty secrets from the Dead Sea” but the real secret is that its products come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the Occupied Territory, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. The company’s appropriation of materials from the Dead Sea is, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, a patently illegal use of resources by an occupying power.
Ahava puts a pretty face on its crimes, paying noted progressive actress and Oxfam Ambassador Kristen Davis to be its spokeswoman. But here’s what Oxfam itself has to say about Ahava’s business practices:
“The settlements on the West Bank are illegal under international humanitarian law and that creates a lot of problems for the Palestinians that live there.”
“Consumers that are buying produce that are grown in illegal settlements need to have that information so that they can make an informed choice.”
So when Ahava labels its products’ origin as “The Dead Sea, Israel,” the company is asserting a view of the region shared by very little of the world in an effort to actively mislead its consumers. In response, the womens’ activist group CodePink has launched a boycott of Ahava and a series of actions designed to educate consumers about the unseemly back-story of this upscale cosmetics concern.
The Hebrew word “Ahava” means love, but there’s nothing loving about what the company is doing in the West Bank. So check out this Ten-Step Guide to exposing the truth about Ahava’s dirty secrets, sign a petition supporting the boycott and spread the word with an E-Card telling your friends and family about Ahava’s dirty secret.
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