(Rapaport…June 23, 2000) Israeli exchange officials claim the Belgian Diamond Exchange has wrongly blamed them for possibly sending conflict diamonds through its Antwerp bourse.
Zvi Shor, the Diamond Association chair, confirmed through visiting diamond traders and sources who attended the Kimberly diamond conference in South Africa, that for close to two months Belgian exchange officials have been making discreet allegations to Global Witness.
Shor said, “there were two UN reports, one giving Israel high marks for its efforts to prevent blood diamonds from leaking into its market, and the other criticizing Belgium for its behavior. That put Belgium in a very uncomfortable position, and in an attempt at self-preservation it reached for Israel as a scapegoat.”