Boycott Lush at Old Orchard

3. Boycott LUSH coming to Old Orchard

Lush, a skin care company, won't open a store in Israel, but operates stores in Saudi Arabia. The reason they won't do business in Israel ispolitical, not economic. The company, which prides itself in its "ethical campaigns," says: "The catastrophe facing the Palestinian people is one of the defining global justice issues of our time."
Lush admits admits that it is taking sides against Israel and to that end has chosen to promoting "OneWorld--Freedom for Palestine" song project. The lyrics are anti-Israel propaganda. All the proceeds will go to WoW, an extremist, anti-Israel group. (Scroll down for a brief background of WoW.)

Now LUSH is opening a store in Old Orchard, Skokie and hoping we will buy from a company whose business philosophy buys into anti-Israel propaganda and demonizes Israel.

Here's What We Can Do see http://israelgreatest.blogspot.com/2011/08/boycott-lush-at-olr-orchard.html for details




Forward this email to all your friends and family and tell our family, friends, and community to buy their soap and cosmetics elsewhere until LUSH in the UK drops this campaign against Israel or until Lush North America formally distances itself from its parent company's policies. Instead, choose from the wide array of Israeli-made beauty and bath products. (I love Ahava!)

Write a letter to LUSH. Tell it to stop supporting one of the uglier campaigns of our time--the "Hate Israel" movement. Let LUSH know that you and your community will not be able to purchase LUSH products until the company severs all ties with promoters of this campaign. A sample letter is included below.

E-mail the LUSH press office and the Lush charity office to let them know you can no longer support Lush. When you e-mail your letter, please blind copy info@standwithus.com.

LUSH
Press Office gina@lush.co.uk karen@lush.co.uk Office mail: charitypot@lush.co.uk

Contact Old Orchard and express your dissatisfaction with the new store which will be opening. Email: oldorchard@westfield.com
Tell the board of the Westfield Group, owners of Old Orchard, your objections to having Lush in Old Orchard.
Email: http://www.westfield.com/uscentres/site/contactus/ Mail: Westfield Group
United States Head Office, 11th Floor 11601 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90025
Phone: +1 310) 478 4456
Fax: +1 310) 478 1267

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Brief Background on War on Want (WoW) WoW is a UK charity that has been investigated by the UK Charities Commission because of its anti-Israel positions and anti-Semitic imagery. It has been a leader in the propaganda campaign to demonize Israel through the Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions movement, and it supports the propaganda and agenda of groups like Hamas.

WoW demands that Israel take down its security fence, end the Gaza naval blockade, and accept the Palestinians' "right of return," which in essence denies Israel's right to exist and calls for its destruction through demographic changes.
(For more information on WoW, see http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/war_on_want_uk_)

Lush has adopted WoW's demonization of Israel.
Lush-UK simply copied and pasted WoW's accusations against Israel onto its Web page on "ethical campaigns-One World" located here (http://www.lush.co.uk/articles/our-ethical-campaigns/oneworld_100-10285_10.html). They are identical to those on WoW's "Justice for Palestine" Web page (http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/justice-for-palestine).

LUSH-North America, informed us that it has nothing to do with the OneWorld campaign of its UK parent company, and does not include the campaign on its website. If that is the case, LUSH-North America should publicly renounce both the OneWorld project and WoW.

Together we can expose the ugliness underneath a beauty product.

Peggy Shapiro

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SAMPLE LETTER:
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have purchased Lush products for many years, and I was happy to hear that you are opening a store right in my neighborhood in Old Orchard, Skokie, Chicago, Illinois. However, I recently learned that your parent company in the UK is supporting and promoting extremist groups that consistently undermine hopes for peaceful coexistence in the Middle East. Instead, the groups that LUSH is affiliated with, like War on Want, (WoW) promote hatred against Israel and act as apologists for terrorism. I urge you to sever all ties with War on Want and other groups that single out and target the Israeli people for collective punishment in hostile campaigns like the boycott movement.

Your support of these efforts reflects poorly on your judgment and casts doubt on your claims about the quality of your products and on your other political causes.

I urge you to better educate yourselves about the complex issues in this conflict.

Until your company severs ties with extremist groups, and until LUSH-North America publicly disassociates itself from such campaigns, I cannot continue to buy LUSH products and will urge my family, friends, and community to stop purchasing them as well.

Thank you,
*******
Brief Background on War on Want (WoW) WoW is a UK charity that has been investigated by the UK Charities Commission because of its anti-Israel positions and anti-Semitic imagery. It has been a leader in the propaganda campaign to demonize Israel through the Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions movement, and it supports the propaganda and agenda of groups like Hamas.

WoW demands that Israel take down its security fence, end the Gaza naval blockade, and accept the Palestinians' "right of return," which in essence denies Israel's right to exist and calls for its destruction through demographic changes.
(For more information on WoW, see http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/war_on_want_uk_)

Lush has adopted WoW's demonization of Israel.
Lush-UK simply copied and pasted WoW's accusations against Israel onto its Web page on "ethical campaigns-One World" located here (http://www.lush.co.uk/articles/our-ethical-campaigns/oneworld_100-10285_10.html). They are identical to those on WoW's "Justice for Palestine" Web page (http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/justice-for-palestine).

LUSH-North America, informed us that it has nothing to do with the OneWorld campaign of its UK parent company, and does not include the campaign on its website. If that is the case, LUSH-North America should publicly renounce both the OneWorld project and WoW.

Together we can expose the ugliness underneath a beauty product.

Peggy Shapiro

SAMPLE LETTER:
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have purchased Lush products for many years, and I was happy to hear that you are opening a store right in my neighborhood in Old Orchard, Skokie, Chicago, Illinois. However, I recently learned that your parent company in the UK is supporting and promoting extremist groups that consistently undermine hopes for peaceful coexistence in the Middle East. Instead, the groups that LUSH is affiliated with, like War on Want, (WoW) promote hatred against Israel and act as apologists for terrorism. I urge you to sever all ties with War on Want and other groups that single out and target the Israeli people for collective punishment in hostile campaigns like the boycott movement.

Your support of these efforts reflects poorly on your judgment and casts doubt on your claims about the quality of your products and on your other political causes.

I urge you to better educate yourselves about the complex issues in this conflict.

Until your company severs ties with extremist groups, and until LUSH-North America publicly disassociates itself from such campaigns, I cannot continue to buy LUSH products and will urge my family, friends, and community to stop purchasing them as well.

Thank you,