Daniel Gertler and the Israeli Trade in Conflict Diamonds
Recently I wrote an article outlining how a jewish venture capitalist corporation (Och-Ziff) funded Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party in return for the rights to Zimbabwe's resources. As well as how that money was then spent on security equipment, which was then used to assassinate, rape and intimidate both opposition activists and the few remaining White residents of Zimbabwe. (1)
My article fingered the middleman in that transaction as being an Israeli diamond magnate named Daniel Gertler. Who, as it happens, is extremely close to the Lubavitch Chabad (2) and who, according to Haaretz, always consults his spiritual guru Rabbi David Abuhatzeira before making major decisions. (3)
Gertler, who was born in December 1973, is no small bit player in the international diamond trade as he is the grandson of the co-founder of the Israeli Diamond Bourse: Moshe Schnitzer. (4) Gertler founded the DGI Group of Companies in 1996 (DGI stands for 'Dan Gertler International' btw) and it quickly became one of the most important players in the international diamond market. (5)
Illustrative of this fact is that Gertler moved into the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000 when the then president of that country Laurent Desire Kabila offered to sell his country's diamond mining rights to the DGI group. (6) The part of DGI group that was created to operate this concession, and still operates it, in Congo was, and is, the Emaxon Finance Corporation, which is co-owned by Gertler and the Lubavitcher Chabad Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Leibovitch. (7)
This deal saw Gertler acquire a monopoly worth around $600 million at the time for the paltry sum of $20 million. (8)
Indeed, it is worth quoting what a diamond industry analyst has to say about Gertler's method of acquiring this lucrative monopoly. To wit:
'Traditionally the Gertler family worked in diamond-cutting and diamond-marketing spheres. In the end of 1990’s Dan Gertler came up with an initiative of making investments in diamond mining. He contacted the Kabyle clan, which ruled Congo. Gertler paid $20 mln to Loran Kabyle for the monopoly right to export Congo diamonds, and founded International Diamond Industry in Congo.' (9)
In other words, Gertler contacted the tribal rulers of the Democratic Republic of Congo and bribed his way into gaining an extremely valuable concession for (what was effectively) a nominal sum (an interpretation suggested by the fact he was 'advised' by senior figures in the Lubavitch Chabad to go into the Congo for unknown, and probably nefarious, reasons). (10)
Indeed, this deal clearly wasn't sweet enough for Gertler since there is evidence that Gertler was peripherally involved in the conspiracy that assassinated Laurent Kabila and brought his son (Joseph Kabila) to power in January 2001. (11)
Evidence of such involvement isn't difficult to find as Gertler's concession not only survived Laurent Kabila's assassination and Joseph Kabila's rise to power, but it rapidly expanded. With the rise of Joseph Kabila's tyrannical police state a new player came into the mix: the Israeli government.
In 2001 (the year of Laurent Kabila's assassination) Congo suddenly began spending large amounts of money purchasing arms from Israel: some $700,000 in this first year alone. (12) These were provided by the government-owned Israel Military Industries, which mandates direct Israeli government involvement (as it has to approve all such sales as well as directly profits from them). (13)
The root of this sudden change in Congo's military purchasing behaviour was Gertler's influence in that he offered to procure arms for Congo and worked with the Congolese army to acquire them. (14) To help Gertler even brought in IDF personnel to help train and organize Congo's army, including senior officers such as Avigdor Ben Gal and Meir Dagan. (15)
Indeed, these were but the tip of the iceberg as it appears (from the testimony of ex-Israeli counter-terrorism officer Yossi Kamisa) the Israelis, through Gertler's agency, engaged in wholesale bribery (to gain access to valuable resources that could be exploited) and fostered the ability of Kabila's forces to make war on its own people. (16)
Gertler was able to do this because he is one of Israel's richest men (17) and he has clear links to senior political figures in Israel such as Avigdor Lieberman (formerly Israel's Foreign Minister) who he had arrange the military support for Congo in 2000. (18)
We also know this information is accurate because Gertler paid Kamisa off to the tune of 1.4 million Israeli shekels in order to prevent the disclosure of his secret activities with the Israelis and Congolese. (19)
That shows a remarkable amount of foresight: doesn't it?
To know in 2000, you are going to need military and security service support from the Israeli government in Congo when the president of that country hasn't even been assassinated yet and the diamond deal is still either yet to be agreed or just signed.
Regardless of this (and the fact that Gertler's diamond reserves are primarily in rebel-held areas of Congo and thus need 'pacifying' by the Congolese army) (20) Gertler's contact with Joseph Kabila has gotten closer and closer as time has progressed. An example of which is the fact that Gertler engineered a meeting between Joseph Kabila and then US President George W. Bush in November 2003 and has also provided Kabila access to high-profile North American corporate lobbyists (probably via the contacts of the Israel Lobby). (21)
He also attended Joseph Kabila's wedding in 2006 (22) and had a close relationship with Kabila's late financial advisor Augustin Katumba Mwanke. (23) In other words, Gertler is very, very close to the Congolese government and its titular ruler, which is a fact he has used to gain more and more concessions in the Congo. (24)
In essence Gertler is following the pattern he set when he began 'trading' (aka smuggling) conflict diamonds out of Angola, which then helped fund the carnage there. (25) These were (like those out of Congo) then funnelled back to Israel, (26) which don't forget is the world's leading exporter of cut diamonds (27) and with which, as we have seen, Gertler has extremely strong connections.
Israel then cuts these diamonds and then sells them on to the world market as if they were any other gem. Indeed, these exported conflict diamonds are one of the major sources of revenue for the Israeli state contributing some $9.4 billion to its coffers in 2008 alone. (28)
Aside from this Gertler is extremely close to Avigdor Lieberman (formerly Israel's Foreign Minister) and is an ardent supporter and financier of radical right-wing settler politics (of the Arab-hating, murder all the non-jews variety). (29) We also know that Gertler donates some of his extraordinary wealth to fund the creation and upkeep of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and formerly in the Gaza Strip. (30)
In other words: Gertler is the primary beneficiary (with the Israeli government a secondary, although still substantial, one) to the trade in Congolese (as well as formerly Angolan) conflict diamonds, which are imported into Israel in their illegal/quasi-legal state, cut and then exported out onto the world diamond market as legitimate gems for non-jews to purchase and by so doing fund the Israeli state's war against the Palestinians and their regional neighbours.
The message could not be clearer: before you purchase diamonds make sure they haven't been cut in Israel. Since if you purchase diamonds that have been cut in Israel then you not only funding Israeli atrocities in Palestine and the associated Hasbara, but you are also funding genocide in Congo.
References
(1) See my article: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/robert-mugabe-and-his-jewish-backers
(2) http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2014/08/israeli-bt-billionaire-claims-he-struck-oil-in-the-congo-123.html
(3) http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/gertlers-bling-bang-torah-gang/
(4) http://www.rough-polished.com/en/database/10375.html; http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dan_Gertler
(5) http://www.rough-polished.com/en/database/10375.html
(6) http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/gertlers-bling-bang-torah-gang/
(7) http://trinitynews.ie/guns-and-gems-clash-in-dr-congo/;
(8) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2010/0622/An-Israeli-tycoon-the-Virgin-Islands-and-Africa-s-blood-diamonds
(9) http://www.rough-polished.com/en/database/10375.html
(10) http://www.mining.com/meet-the-israeli-middleman-said-to-have-stripped-and-flipped-first-quantums-drc-mine-76979/
(11) http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/gertlers-bling-bang-torah-gang/; http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2010/0622/An-Israeli-tycoon-the-Virgin-Islands-and-Africa-s-blood-diamonds
(12) http://www.rough-polished.com/en/database/10375.html
(13) Ibid.
(14) Ibid.
(15) Ibid.
(16) http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-772481
(17) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2010/0622/An-Israeli-tycoon-the-Virgin-Islands-and-Africa-s-blood-diamonds
(18) http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-772481; http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/gertlers-bling-bang-torah-gang/
(19) http://www.rough-polished.com/en/database/10375.html
(20) http://trinitynews.ie/guns-and-gems-clash-in-dr-congo/
(21) http://www.rough-polished.com/en/database/10375.html
(22) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2010/0622/An-Israeli-tycoon-the-Virgin-Islands-and-Africa-s-blood-diamonds
(23) http://www.mining.com/meet-the-israeli-middleman-said-to-have-stripped-and-flipped-first-quantums-drc-mine-76979/
(24) Ibid.
(25) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2010/0622/An-Israeli-tycoon-the-Virgin-Islands-and-Africa-s-blood-diamonds
(26) Cf. http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/angola.htm
(27) http://electronicintifada.net/content/israels-blood-diamonds/8754
(28) http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/8121
(29) http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/gertlers-bling-bang-torah-gang/
(30) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2010/0622/An-Israeli-tycoon-the-Virgin-Islands-and-Africa-s-blood-diamonds