I was happy that Representative Waxman, my Congressional representative, invited us into his office to speak with him. Tighe explained how it felt to be a Californian and a member of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and how frustrating it was to have no support from the State Department. He and Medea asked Waxman if he would help the US citizen owners of the boat get the US-flagged vessel out of the Greek military port where it is stuck. I’m hopeful that we can follow up with him and other members of Congress with concrete ways to support this effort – perhaps a letter from multiple members of Congress to the State Department to help us get US property back in the hands of US citizens.

The part of the conversation that was devastating was when Rep Waxman explained his opinion on Palestinian statehood. He claims that going to the United Nations for recognition violates the Oslo Accords and that it will undermine the peace process and not help create a two-state solution. As a practicing Jew and a peace activist, it’s hard for me to understand this position. Israel initially received international recognition because it was recognized as an independent state by the United Nations. The UN is the global body that was created partially to provide a peaceful way for new states to emerge. It is also the space where international disputes should be negotiated, to help avert war. That’s why we have a United Nations. So it shocks me that my representative dismisses the UN in this situation. What makes Israel and Palestine different from the rest of the world? What makes it a special case that should be negotiated outside the realm of the global body politic? It frightens me that the desire to support Israelis can blind US politicians from the government bodies that are so vital to creating a just, peaceful world. Waxman’s last message was that going to the UN would not be helpful to creating a two state solution, which he hopes is the goal we’re seeking. In my opinion, this is a strange, strange thing to ask US activists. I believe in the right of self-determination. As a US citizen, I have no right to tell people in the Middle East what their final political state(s) should look like. My advocacy is to support the right for every single person to live in an internationally recognized state and to have their political, cultural, and economic rights recognized. Why is this such a horrific position?

At Representative Sherman’s office, we also sang “Don’t Buy Israeli,” the BDS song to the tune of Hava Nagila. I spend most of my time focused on stopping the US war machine, trying to end the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Knowing the intransigence of the US body politic, and the fact that both the Palestinian and Israeli peace communities support BDS, it felt really good to be a part of both of these actions.

Viva CODEPINK! Free Palestine!

This Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12, Birchbox.com is sponsoring an Ahava Twitter contest. They are calling on people to Tweet skincare question with the hashtag #AHAVAreborn. People who Tweet using that hashtag – part of Ahava’s REBRANDING campaign –will be entered into the contest and given a chance to win $300 worth of Mineral Magical Skincare. (See details below by clicking on the link.)

AHAVA Twitter Contest! Win $300 Worth of Mineral Magical Skincare

http://blog.birchbox.com/post/5243881997/ahava-twitter-contest-win-300-worth-of-mineral

We are asking Ahava boycott supporters to use the hashtags #AHAVAreborn & #stolenbeauty on Wednesday & Thursday to help get out the word about Ahava’s illegal practices and its occupation profiteering. PLEASE TWEET OFTEN. PLEASE SHARE THIS ACTION ALERT WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

Suggested sample tweets are below. You can CUT & PASTE, or write your own. Make sure you include the #hasthags #Ahavareborn & #stolenbeauty. If you click on the j.mp link below the sample Tweets, they will click to Tweet.

Thanks for helping to take the profit out of occupation.

The Stolen Beauty Ahava boycott team

*

QUESTIONS WITH LINKS TO STOLEN BEAUTY FACTS & PRESS CLIPS

@birchbox Why are you selling cosmetics made on stolen land? See map http://bit.ly/jpOv9f #AhavaReborn #StolenBeauty

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/ksKRaI

How is Ahava complicit in the sins of occupation? http://bit.ly/ag6cTX #AhavaReborn #StolenBeauty #BDS @birchbox

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/la7bhz

Why is there a boycott campaign against Ahava? http://bit.ly/j5Xg92 #AhavaReborn #StolenBeauty #BDS

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/m6NJJC

Why have 10 rabbis signed onto a boycott against Ahava cosmetics? http://bit.ly/jHHts2 #AhavaReborn #StolenBeauty

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/jJQewW

*

QUESTIONS:

#AhavaReborn What’s pretty about occupation profiteering? Don’t buy Ahava’s #stolenbeauty #BDS www.stolenbeauty.org

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/m8HKJ5

@birchbox Why are Ahava products made in a factory on stolen land? That’s ugly. #AhavaReborn #stolenbeauty. #BDS

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/kXhPQI

#AhavaReborn Ahava means love in Hebrew, but what’s loving about #stolenbeauty? www.stolenbeauty.org #BDS

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/iyll3U

@birchbox Why is Ahava’s factory & visitors center in an illegal Israeli settlement? #Ahavareborn #stolenbeauty #BDS

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/kkuvNp

Why do Ahava’s profits subsidize two illegal Israeli settlements? That’s ugly. #Ahavareborn #stolenbeauty @birchbox #BDS

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/iALBmL

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MORE TWEETS:

#AHAVAreborn – new sheepskin, same wolf. Don’t Buy Occupation profiteering. #stolenbeauty

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/ixU2Os

#AHAVAreborn – new label, same illegal Israeli settlement goods #stolenbeauty

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/lcKXa1

#AHAVAreborn is a Pandora’s Box of illegal activity – don’t buy it @BirchBox #stolenbeauty

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/jb4jhE

Even Mineral Magic can’t hide @AHAVA_US origins: Illegal Israeli Settlement #AHAVAreborn #bds #stolenbeauty

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/mlM2QP

#AHAVAreborn contest promises $300 of #stolenbeauty – Occupation Isn’t Pretty! www.stolenbeauty.org

Click to tweet it: http://j.mp/iRbUle

As I walked past the Ahava stand I noticed there were two burly security guards framing both sides of the small booth and seriously scanning the crowd. It was the only booth with security, and these guys were not welcoming so not a lot of people stopped at it during the ten minutes I watched.

I came back a few hours later and handed out our boycott stickers at the beginning of the Ahava aisle, until eventually the Ahava gal came and started freaking out that I had no right to hand things out and tried to grab my badge. But I was out and down the escalator before she could get me and went to the back of our booth for a while.

Photos by Adam Eidenge I then approached from another direction and stood in front of the Ahava stand between the two guards and pulled out the banner. The woman who had come at me before started freaking out again. Everyone in the booth got very excited and the two guards asked me to leave, and when I asked why the Ahava woman started grabbing me and my banner, and barking at the guards that they needed to remove me. In the meantime the security guards went after people in the aisle who had a cameras, pulling off their badges, and grabbing their arms and putting hands in front of their cameras. They were very rough with my friend Ariel who had a video camera and with Matthew who was taking stills. The guards seemed more concerned with preventing any documentation of my banner than with the banner itself. Because of all this commotion a crowd started gathering. The Ahava rep insisted that I was breaking the law and was trespassing. I said I actually have a badge and I have as much a right to be here as you do. She asked where my badge was and I said I had put it in my purse so she couldn’t grab it from me the way she had tried to do earlier. I then said she should be arrested for violating international law and the human rights of the people in the Occupied Territories. She kept coming back to the fact that I was breaking a law, and I kept telling her that she was the one who was breaking the law. The Ahava security guards and the rep escorted me out of the hall but not out of the convention center; they couldn’t kick me out of the building so the Ahava rep instructed her security detail to call convention security, saying they had been promised I would be removed from the premises. She stayed on me while we were waiting for the building security, and in the meantime I held up our boycott banner the whole time. Out in the lobby my conversation with the Ahava rep continued. I asked her how it felt to work for a company that was so disrespectful of the Palestinian people. She said she was proud to work for Ahava. When I asked why, she said she was proud of the product, and I said you care more about a product than the rights of people. At this point, a building security guard arrived and dragged me out. I asked him to help the people who had been roughed up by Ahava’s thugs, but he ignored me. I stood outside the convention hall, passing out stickers and holding up the sign. Ariel joined me after she was kicked out, along with Matthew and another friend who had been taking pictures. Then the convention security guy came back, he was nice and promised to get us our badges back and walked with me with my banner across the street over the center’s property line. He thanked me for cooperating. I told him again that my rights, and those of my friends, had not been respected. He apologized and said he would report the aggressive response by Ahava that he felt was extreme. I was able to stand outside for another twenty minutes. The photographers were able to get their badges back as the head of security apologized for that and said he would make sure everyone was taken care of. The Natural Products Expo is supposed to be about healthy choices, and respect for people and the environment. Ahava’s bullying response showed how out of place they were at this convention. The next day when Ariel was visiting a friend at a booth across the way, the Ahava rep and her guards recognized her and had her ejected from the hall again.

The StolenBeauty.org site maintained by Nancy, Rae and the CODEPINK team states that, “Ahava promises ‘Beauty Secrets from the Dead Sea,’ but the real secrets it keeps are an ugly truth—its products actually come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the Occupied Territory of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem.”

Nancy writes, “We will be testifying on Saturday afternoon about Ahava and its occupation profiteering at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. The focus of the London session will be on corporations profiting from Israel’s occupation, and Rae and I are really excited about meeting with scholars, activists, attorneys, human rights campaigners and others who will be testifying or are on the jury for this historic tribunal.”

You can stream live video of the Russell Tribunal by clicking below.

Schedule
Saturday 20 November: 10:00-13:30, 14:45-18:00 (GMT)
Sunday 21 November: 10:00-13:30, 14:45-17:30 (GMT)

For more information about the Russell Tribunal, click here.

Whew!  What an action-packed week it’s been!  I’m sitting at my friend’s kitchen table in Madison, Wisconsin and I think it’s the first time I’ve sat still in days. Sounds of protest songs, phone ringing, and bike tread to the asphalt are replaced here by finches, the breeze dancing with tree branches, someone playing reggae.  Uploading photos and reviewing video footage from the US Social Forum (USSF) this past week, I realize just how much we did in Detroit in one short week (was it really only eight days ago that I arrived in the midwest?!).  From burying a hulking Hummer to learning, listening, and engaging in the US Social Forum workshops to taking part in actions, creating a pink lemonade stand, demolishing a building, cofacilitating People’s Movement Assemblies, getting Tighe Barry out of jail (and many of us almost going to jail) in Canada, dancing through the night and being busy throughout the day, we had a very full, hot pink week in Motor City!

Monday, we buried a Hummer on the wildly artistic street that is home to the Heidelberg Project, a symbol of hope and revitalization in a city devastated by economic downturn.

The Hummer was the symbol of a macho, gas-guzzling, war-glorifying era that is thankfully came to an end one month ago when the Hummer went out of business.  My generation has been asked to kill and die for oil in Iraq–soldiers dying in their Humvees so Americans can go joy-riding in their Hummers. By burying the Hummer, we were saying, “No more wars for oil, we want a green, peaceful future.” Read more about why – and how – we buried the Hummer in Medea’s excellent blog.

To bury a Hummer we harvested one burned out hummer body from a salvage yard, three cans of remnant pink house paint, a truck load of flowers, ferns, and a tree, fake flowers, a bicycle, a stack of tires to line the grave, a tractor with a backhoe, and a truck hood for the tombstone.  The burial project took all day to complete and was a sight to behold.  While I had worked for months to help make the vision a reality, seeing the artist, Tighe Barry, bring all the elements together and orchestrating the transformation of the Hummer from war machine carcass to flower pot was a breathtaking sight to behold (and believe me after shoveling dirt and painting in the hot sun we were out of breath!).

I can’t imagine a better space for the Hummer to be buried, and while we were finishing up the final details, dozens of people stopped by to say thanks for creating this vision and for the inspiration.  This will be a lasting art piece that will be seen by people from all over the world who come to visit the Heidelberg Project.  Janine Guyton, who co-directs the project with her husband and visionary artist Tyree Guyton, told us that she and Tyree love the piece and plan to keep it there indefinitely, perhaps even when they break ground on their recycled art building a year from now.  And the Hummer’s funeral made the news. Hear Medea speaking about the burial on Free Speech News here and here and see footage of the burial here.

The Hummer Burial absolutely would not have happened without the artistic vision, determination, of artivist Tighe Barry, or without Medea Benjamin’s original idea to bury the Hummer.  We are grateful to our partnerships and new friendships with Tyree and Janine at the Heidelberg Project and with John George and the team at Motor City Blight Busters, who brought butterflies to decorate the art installation space.

On Tuesday morning we worked with the Motor City Blight Busters to help demolish an abandoned home and saw the incredible work Blight Busters is doing to rebuild a neighborhood ravaged by drugs, violence and unemployment.  It now has a community garden, new homes, a jazz and poetry club called the Artists Village, a community center, and more.  Young folks are actively engaged in all the projects.  We returned to this neighborhood on Saturday night to celebrate the birthday of Blight Bustsers founder John George and had the opportunity to award John a pink badge of courage for he and his partners’ work in the community.

Tuesday afternoon we marched in the opening day USSF march and created a lemonade stand on the corner of Grand Circus Park to hand out hundreds of cups of pink lemonade to marchers who were thirsty for justice… and a cold beverage (’cause Detroit is HOT!).  The march was beautiful with many big puppets, giant sunflowers, awesome chants and cheers, and upeat energy in the heat of the Detroit streets.  By nightfall we had a house packed with CODEPINKers from all over the country.

Wednesday was the first full day of workshops and our CODEPINK workshop was during the first slot this morning.  It was called “Beyond Petroleum” and focused on transforming the war economy into a greener and more peaceful society step by step.  We gave presentations on burying the Hummer, keeping Northrop Grumman out of DC, responding to the BP oil gusher, protesting robotic warfare and drones.  Nancy Mancias, Susan Harman, and Terrie Hempel (W. MI CP Coordinator) facilitated a teach-in on accountabiliy complete with a how-to arrest a war criminal demo.  They awarded certificates to those in attendance, certifying that they were ready to make a citizens arrest when necessary in the name of justice and human rights.

The Pro-Occupation of Palestine group, Stand with Us, tried to have a workshop at the US Social Forum but it was canceled when discovered.  It was an attempt to pinkwash the forum – focused on LGBTQ rights in the Middle East.

Thursday was packed with anti-war and Palestine track workshops. Medea Benjamin spoke at the anti-war People’s Movement Assembly and at a workshop on lifting the siege of Gaza. I spoke on a morning panel about Jewish stories toward justice in Palestine and Israel with Jewish Voice for Peace (listen to parts one, two, and three), and in the afternoon cofacilitated a workshop with Adalah-NY on consumer boycotts to pressure Israel to end the occupation.

CODEPINK’s Nancy Mancias was on a panel on robotic warfare and spoke on accountability as well. Throughout each day of the forum, CODEPINKers joined in workshops and discussions on topics from immigration reform to environmental justice to demilitarizing our communities to grounding drones. I asked each person I met how the Social Forum was going for them and most everyone replied that they were overwhelmed by all the programming choices, and felt that the multiple locations for events and lack of easy transportation made it difficult to participate in programming that was not central to the forum. A great deal of funds (I imagine) were invested in large tents for outdoor tabling that were not easily accessible from the central Cobo Hall and were thus never used. I concluded that less programming in a more central place with more encouragement to get to know each other (greeters, mixers/ice breakers, etc.) would be more logistically manageable and would foster more movement cross-pollination. Nevertheless orchestrating this epic gathering of social movements was no small feat and the organizers did an incredible job!

On Thursday evening many in our delegation visited the Al-Nakba photo exhibit at a local church and witnessed black and white photos documenting the destruction of Palestinian villages and lives, and also highlighting Palestinian and international nonviolent resistance to the occupation.

Friday morning PINKs joined in a mass action to protest big banks and home foreclosures.
We took part in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions People’s Movement Assembly, and I spoke about CODEPINK’s Ahava boycott with a group who presented on consumer boycotts. This People’s Movement Assembly drew a couple hundred people over four hours to engage in next steps on building a movement to apply economic pressure on Israel. Our Ahava boycott was applauded for the many successes over such a short time (while in Detroit, we celebrated the one year anniversary since we launched the campaign by shutting down the Ahava store in Tel Aviv).

Friday evening we gathered for a delicious Ethiopian buffet and then danced the night away at the Leftist Lounge, the largest USSF people’s party, complete with hip hop, djs, and powerful live performances from our friends Climbing Poetree and Seasunz.

Saturday morning we joined in a mass direct action to protest the Detroit incinerator, a hulking polluter, and to call for clean air, good jobs and justice for all. We rode bikes, carried giant sunflowers, wore our Boycott BP sandwich boards, and danced to the awesome beats of the Rude Mechanical Orchestra marching band.

And then, after a full week of participating in the US Social Forum, focusing on creating new solutions for green energy, healthy and just economy and jobs for all—we celebrated our revived vision for a new world by dancing on the Hummer’s grave at our art installation on Heidelberg Street. We held a ceremony in which we honored our ancestors who have inspired us to take action for a brighter world, and said farewell for good to the Hummer. We joined hands as part of the national Hands Across the Sand Day of Action and did a spiral dance around the Hummer, calling for an end to offshore oil drilling and gas-guzzlers. One little boy sung an alternate version of “Twinkle, twinkle little star” to the tune of “Twinkle, twinkle monster car”. Musician Dave Lippman wrote up a parody to Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime” and Anne Feeney performed anti-war tunes including “Have You Been to Jail for Justice”. I led a short meditation to visualize the power of people joining hands across the globe to put an end to war and oil consumption. Tighe put the final touches onto the hummer and the tree was firmly planted. And then, as sometimes does when CODEPINK converges to do something transformative, magically the other core artists behind the Hummer project, Tyree and Kevin, arrived to join Tighe in the moment of completion. Starhawk came along and also blessed the space with her presence.

By working together, our CODEPINK team in Detroit brought smiles, creativity, and solidarity to the USSF, from carrying banners to speaking at workshops to circulating petitions and flyers and tabling to shuttling folks to jail solidarity to pitching in for whatever was needed at the moment.  And there was a magical element working with us too, which was especially present when the skies were clear on the day it was supposed to rain during our Hummer Burial, and when the full moon arose over the river as we did a spiral dance with Starhawk, and when we were offered an indoor table to share with National Assembly, and so many other little bright moments throughout.  We owe a HUGE thanks to the forum organizers who managed so many details and logistics to create the container for bridges to be built and for transformation.

During the past week, McChrystal got the boot, protests converged to oppose the G-20 in Toronto, and over 20,000 activists gathered in the US to build movements for a new world not based on corporate domination and militarism. We gathered in the heart of the nation to create the lifeboat, the people’s movement for a just, peaceful, healthy, vibrant world.  Another world IS possible.  And I can see her breathing, dancing, turning out a hip hop beat, and marching boldly into the sunrise of a dawn just ahead.

Rae Abileah is the roseroots coordinator for CODEPINK Women for Peace.

Here at CODEPINK, we believe in thinking globally and acting locally. One of our current campaigns is to boycott AHAVA stolen beauty products. While the company is headquarted in Tel-Aviv, AHAVA products actually come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the Occupied Territory of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. Hence, along with some of our local groups, supporters of the Stolen Beauty AHAVA Boycott Campaign held protests in Arlington, VA, Washington, D.C, Montreal, Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles.

In Arlington, Virginia, the mud squad came out in force while in Washington, D.C., Medea Benjamin and other local CODEPINK supporters went into Lord & Taylor, asking them to cease and desist on selling AHAVA products because after all, there is nothing beautiful about occupation.

In Seattle,  supporters protested outside Nordstrom Flagship store and in Montreal, they defied the cold to protest outside “The Bay”–both protests calling for a boycott of AHAVA. Why sell stolen goods?

In New York, the actions carried out at Ricky’s for stocking AHAVA received coverage from the Indypendent. Like in most other places, activists were clad in pink towels and bathrobes, chanting “Ricky’s, Ricky’s don’t you know? AHAVA has got to go,” and other slogans.

CODEPINK Co-Founder Jodie Evans along with a couple other CODEPINK staff in Los Angeles went into to deliver letters calling for the store to take AHAVA off the shelves and then delivered similar letters to Stanley Gold–the leader of United States zionism who has investments in AHAVA. (Video)

For more information on the Global BDS movement, please visit BDSmovement.net