RAPAPORT... Adalah-NY (the Coalition for Justice in the Middle East) gathered in front of the Leviev diamond boutique on Madison Avenue February 9 -- the seventh time since paying a surprise visit since opening night November 20, 2007.

The group, which also organized a protest in London this past Saturday, opposes what it calls Lev Leviev's construction of Israeli settlements in the Middle East and for contributing to the loss of affordable housing in New York.

But Lev Leviev himself dismissed the protests to Rapaport News this week, saying there was a hint of anti-Semitism in the protestor's actions.

“The protests you refer to are clearly aimed at Israel and not at one particular company,” Leviev told Rapaport.

He explained that the demonstrators had picked on his company (Africa Israel) because of its interest in a building company that had development projects in the Israeli town of Modi'in.

“It sounds to me that these tend towards anti-Semitic accusations," he said.

Earlier this week, while addressing the Third International Rough Conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Leviev downplayed manufacturer’s concerns for rising rough prices. He noted that other commodities such as gold and oil have risen around 300 percent in the past five years, while diamonds have only increased in the range of low double digits.

He said that the lack of structure in the diamond industry had also led to the shortage of goods, which other commodities haven't really experienced.

Leviev criticized the mining company tender processes suggesting those tenders contribute to crazy pricing.

“People who buy at these prices are suckers,” he said.