News

Every year, consumers the world over unwittingly spend billions of
dollars on diamonds crafted in Israel, thereby helping to fund one of
the world’s most protracted and contentious conflicts. Most people are
unaware that Israel is one of the world’s leading producers of cut and
polished diamonds. As diamonds are normally not hallmarked, consumers
cannot distinguish an Israeli diamond from one crafted in India,
Belgium, South Africa or elsewhere. The global diamond industry and
aligned governments, including the EU, have hoodwinked consumers into
believing the diamond trade has been cleansed of diamonds that fund
human rights abuses, but the facts are startlingly different.

Israel — which stands accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity,
ethnic cleansing, genocide, the crime of apartheid, extrajudicial
executions within and outside the territory it controls and persistent
serious breaches of the Geneva Conventions — is the world’s leading
exporter of diamonds. Israeli companies import rough diamonds for
cutting and polishing, adding significantly to their value, and export
them globally via distribution hubs in Antwerp, London, Hong Kong, New
York and Mumbai.

In July 2000, the global diamond industry set up the World Diamond
Council (WDC). The WDC was established as a response to public outrage
about the use of diamonds to fund blood... >>>