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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cosmetics |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Holon, Israel |
| Number of employees | 200 |
| Website | http://www.ahava.com/ |
Ahava (Template:Lang-he) (lit. Love) is an Israeli cosmetics company that manufactures skin-care products made of mud and mineral-based compounds from the Dead Sea.
Dead Sea Laboratories (DSL), the company that manufactures Ahava products was established in Israel in 1988 by three kibbutzim in the Dead Sea area. The company is now co-owned by Gaon Holdings, one of Israel's largest holding companies. Ahava exports to over thirty countries worldwide, and exports account for 60% its sales. Ahava products, advertised as being popular with tourists, are available in shops all over Israel.
However CODEPINK, a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement has now has called for consumers in the USA to boycott Ahava products because the company is directly involved in and profiting from the occupation of the Palestinian West Bank.
Ahava's shareholders include Kibbutz Mitzpe Shalem (41 percent); Hamashbir Holdings and Gaon Holdings (41 percent); and kibbutz Ein Gedi and kibbutz Kalia (18 percent).
The plant is located in Mitzpe Shalem settlement near the Dead Sea. (All Israeli settlements on the West Bank are illegal under international law.) Ahava has 200 employees. The administrative headquarters are located in Holon
In Britain Ahava's products sparked controversy because they are manufactured in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The store chain Selfridge withdraw Ahava's products (among others) in December 2001 after a boycott campaign, but reinstated them a few weeks later. Critics denounce that the products are labelled as of 'Israeli origin' whereas the European Union does not consider goods originated in the West Bank or Gaza as being of Israeli origin because "according to international public law, including the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, these territories cannot be considered to be part of the State of Israel", and does not include them in the Trade Agreement signed with Israel .
References
- MarketWise, Greer Fay Cashman, Jerusalem Post, January 3, 2008.
- "Stolen Beauty: The struggle for a just peace in the Middle East coming to a store near you", by Nancy Kricorian, [http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10691.shtml
- Will the British buy love from the Dead Sea? - Haaretz - Israel News
- "The ugly reality of Israel's settlement-made beauty products", Adri Nieuwhof,[http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10691.shtml
- From Israel with Ahava - Haaretz - Israel News
- Selfridges bans sale of goods from occupied territories The Guardian, Dec. 22, 2001
- Harrods reinstates Israeli products in battle with ongoing shelf life israelinsider, 25 Jan. 2002
- Implementation of EC/Israel Trade Agreement - House of Commons, European Legislation, Thirty-First Report (1998)