#BDS Earlham College drops Sabra hummus over involvement in Israeli human rights violations #fuckIsrael

In Response to Student and Faculty Concerns, Earlham College’s Dining Services Decides to Stop Selling Sabra Products

On the 5^th of September, Earlham College’s dining service agreed to have Sabra Hummus removed from the coffee shop after being informed of the involvement in Israeli human rights violations in Palestine by Strauss Group Ltd., of which Sabra Dipping Company, LLC is a subsidiary. The decision comes after a group of concerned students and faculty approached Earlham’s dining services requesting the removal of the product from the college’s facilities.

Strauss Group Ltd. provides financial support and supplies to the Golani and Givati brigades of the Israeli army, which is responsible for enforcing Israel’s illegal, 45-year-old military occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands, and other grave and systematic human rights abuses.

“We applaud Earlham College’s dining service for taking this principled stand and refusing to do business with Sabra Dipping Company,” said Basil Farraj, of BDS Earlham. “Earlham students will no longer be unwittingly supporting Israeli abuses of Palestinian human rights when they purchase hummus and other products on campus.”

Earlham College’s dining services has promised to provide an alternative for the removed product, and were quick to note that they take student concerns seriously and follow through with immediate action.

Two years ago students launched a campaign calling on Earlham College to divest from Motorola Solutions, Caterpillar, and Hewlett Packard, companies that profit from and enable Israeli violations of international law. Last semester students with BDS Earlham also launched a “Dorm Storm” that has continued into the current school year, visiting all dorms and houses on campus and engaging in discussions with students to educate them about Earlham BDS and the larger global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which was launched by Palestinian civil society in 2005.  Source
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#BDS Student tells EI about #Sabra hummus boycott victory at her high school

Today Nadine Darwish, a sophomore at Lincoln-Way High School in the Chicago suburbs,tweeted the news that her school will no longer serve Sabra brand hummus.

Chicago’s DePaul University recently decided to provide an alternative to Sabra hummus after a campaign by the Students for Justice in Palestine.

Darwish had been working on an article for her school paper urging other students to call for the boycott of Sabra at their school. But she reported on Twitter that a brief conversation with the cafeteria’s lunch lady achieved the desired outcome — the school cafeteria will no longer sell Sabra hummus.

This afternoon she told me more about what happened, and that others concerned with human rights shouldn’t be intimidated from speaking up. Read more here. And follow Nadine on twitter here: @earthtonadine

#BDS DePaul University Students Declare Victory in Sabra Hummus Campaign

DePaul University Students Declare Victory in Sabra Hummus Campaign
Just prior to Thanksgiving, US Campaign coalition member group DePaul University Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) announced an important victory in its campaign against the sale of Sabra hummus in university dining halls. Earlier this year, DePaul SJP launched a campaign to have Sabra hummus removed from campus dining halls because it is partially owned by the Strauss Group, which provides material and financial support to Israeli military units. After an inquiry into the activities of the Strauss Group, the university elected to continue selling Sabra hummus. However, the university has quietly introduced the sale of an alternative brand of hummus in the university's dining halls providing students with the opportunity to make ethical consumer purchases. Read more here.

#BDS: ‘Undip Sabra’ campaign hits DePaul’s bulletin boards and cafeteria cash registers

By Sami Kishawi

Two months ago, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at DePaul University called on the campus administration to remove Sabra hummus and affiliated products from school cafeterias. The organization’s reasoning was that Sabra was owned by Strauss Group, a company directly benefiting and supporting two notorious brigades in the Israeli army.
The school’s administration immediately recognized the problematic nature of the product and decided to withdraw it from all campus dining halls and eateries. Almost immediately, however, pro-Zionist groups, both on and off campus, pressured the administration into reinstating Sabra products. The administration calmly promised a thorough investigation and review of the product in the beginning of DePaul’s second quarter. (Read SJP’s statement here.)
Read more

#BDS: ACTION ALERT: Remove Sabra Hummus from DePaul University

The DePaul chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine calls on DePaul University to permanently remove Sabra hummus from its cafeteria shelves, because Sabra's parent company, the Strauss Group, financially supports the Israeli military's Golani and Givati brigades, which have been charged with countless violations of international law.


Click here to sign the petition.

#BDS: Israeli food company Strauss defends supporting IDF

The chairwoman of an Israeli food and beverages company slammed a campaign by students at Princeton University and Chicago's DePaul University to boycott a popular brand of hummus, the Sabra label, co-owned with PepsiCo, as “against all the good things” her company does.

Students sympathetic to the Palestinian cause in Princeton carried out a vote on the popular hummus and the results showed that Sabra's abuses were "tenuous" at most, according to a report recently published by Forbes magazine.

The story was picked up by international media in furious op-ed pieces against the Sabra label and a Facebook page ("Boycott Sabra Hummus") was created to further push for a boycott of the product.

The student campaign against the hummus came after Strauss Group, Israel’s second largest food and beverages company, posted a statement on its website saying that it commits funds "for welfare, cultural and educational activities" to officers in the Israeli Army’s Golani Brigade, which has fought in every major war since the Jewish state was created in 1948, according to Forbes.

Strauss Group’s 50-year-old chairwoman, Ofra Strauss, who is a third-generation member of the family business, is a proud supporter of the Israeli forces.

"For us, Israeli soldiers are not army; Israeli soldiers are our kids," Strauss told Forbes in an interview. "When children of this country are in need, we will be there." 

Read more

#BDS: Strauss reposts IDF-support commitment on website

Humous producer rewords pledge to Golani troops following boycott threats from Philadelphia BDS movement.

The Strauss Group, one of the country’s foremost food and beverage companies, has returned its website banner in support of the IDF after it was removed following pressure and boycott threats in the US.

Three weeks ago the Post reported that the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement in Philadelphia had initiated a campaign against Sabra and Tribe humous, produced by Strauss under its American logo, the Sabra Dipping Company, purportedly in protest of the company’s public support for the IDF.

BDS activists held demonstrations in supermarkets and called on them to stop selling Strauss’s products.

#BDS: Update on Sabra Hummus in Princeton University

This particular attack on Sabra hummus is seen as a pet project of the Philly BDS, which seeks to boycott, divest and bring sanctions against companies that support the Israeli Defense Forces. Essentially, this group seeks to condemn Israel and its powerful military forces by accusing them of human rights violations. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement is not exclusively tied to the U.S., similar campaigns can be found in Canada, as:

Well hummus is just the latest target in a long line of commercial and ideological boycotts targeted at the Israeli government. Not simply an American movement, Canadian students have also actively supported the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) campaign, which was initiated in 2005 with the intention of pressuring the Israeli government to “end its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands” and “[recognize] the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel.”

#BDS: DePaul SJP responds to reinstatement of Sabra and pending Committee review

Two weeks ago, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at DePaul University called on campus administrators to suspend the sale of Sabra hummus products after revealing the company’s involvement in the financial and material support of the Israeli military. The University immediately signed on, abiding by its Vincentian values and removing the product from campus food and dining facilities. Days later, however, the administration was pressured into reinstating the Sabra products pending review by the university’s Fair Business Practices Committee.

The opposition quickly regarded this as a substantial defeat to the campaign designed to promote divestment from companies complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. SJP has since responded with a public statement denouncing the reinstatement of Sabra hummus while also calling on DePaul’s administration to permanently extend the suspension of Sabra sales.

#BDS: Hummus matters

The famous civil rights leader Cesar Chavez once said, “The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.” Over the last few weeks, there has been much controversy over the Princeton Committee on Palestine’s call for Princeton students to personally boycott Sabra hummus and our campaign for a referendum asking the University to offer alternative brands in its retail locations. Initially, most of the criticism claimed that this project was trivial and that we should focus on more important things. However, after significant national and international media coverage and a huge opposition effort that included an attempt to stop the referendum from happening altogether, I think we can at least agree on one thing: This is important, and it isn’t just about hummus.

We decided to target Sabra because of its association with human rights violations. The Strauss Group, which owns 50 percent of Sabra Dipping Company, has in the past publicly “adopted” the Golani Brigade of the Israeli Defense Forces and provides its members with financial support.Wednesday’s editorial by The Daily Princetonian said that these concerns are “overblown” because this support “has no tangible effect on the unit’s actions” and because there is no “direct link” between Sabra and the actions of the Golani Brigade. The editorial board has a right to express its opinion on when a product is sufficiently involved in human rights abuses to merit asking for alternatives. Nonetheless, these arbitrary prerequisites miss the point. Indeed, although the money we pay for a package of Sabra hummus could be going directly into the pockets of members of an illegal occupation force known for its brutality against innocent Palestinians, that is not even the main issue.

#BDS: All I want for Christmas is an end to apartheid – Top ten brands to boycott

While there are many Israeli and multinational companies that benefit from apartheid, we put together this list to highlight ten specific companies to target. Many of these produce goods in such a way that directly harms Palestinians — exploiting labor, developing technology for military operations, or supplying equipment for illegal settlements. Many are also the targets of boycotts for other reasons, like harming the environment and labor violations.

1. AHAVA
   This brand’s cosmetics are produced using salt, minerals, and mud from the Dead Sea — natural resources that are excavated from the occupied West Bank. The products themselves are manufactured in the illegal Israeli settlement Mitzpe Shalem. AHAVA is the target of CODEPINK’s “Stolen Beauty” campaign.
2. Delta Galil Industries
   Israel’s largest textiles manufacturer provides clothing and underwear for such popular brands as Gap, J-Crew, J.C. Penny, Calvin Klein, Playtex, Victoria’s Secret (see #10) and many others. Its founder and chairman Dov Lautman is a close associate of former Israeli President Ehud Barak. It has also been condemned by Sweatshop Watch for its exploitation of labor in other countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey.
3. Motorola
   While many of us know this brand for its stylish cellphones, did you know that it also develops and manufactures bomb fuses and missile guidance systems? Motorola components are also used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or “drones”) and in communications and surveillance systems used in settlements, checkpoints, and along the 490 mile apartheid wall. The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has launched the “Hang Up on Motorola” campaign.
4. L’Oreal / The Body Shop
   This cosmetics and perfume company is known for its investments and manufacturing activities in Israel, including production in Migdal Haemek, the “Silicon Valley” of Israel built on the land of Palestinian village Al-Mujaydil, which was ethnically cleansed in 1948. In 1998, a representative of L’Oreal was given the Jubilee Award by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for strengthening the Israeli economy.
5. Dorot Garlic and Herbs
   These frozen herbs that are sold at Trader Joe’s are shipped halfway around the world when they could easily be purchased locally. Trader Joe’s also sells Israeli Cous Cous and Pastures of Eden feta cheese that are made in Israel. QUIT, South Bay Mobilization, and other groups have targeted Trader Joe’s with a “Don’t Buy into Apartheid” campaign.
6. Estee Lauder
   This company’s chairman Ronald Lauder is also the chairman of the Jewish National Fund, a quasi-governmental organization that was established in 1901 to acquire Palestinian land and is connected to the continued building of illegal settlements. Estee Lauder’s popular brands include Clinique, MAC, Origins, Bumble & Bumble, Aveda, fragrance lines for top designers, and many others. They have been the target of QUIT’s “Estee Slaughter Killer Products” campaign.
7. Intel
   This technology company that manufactures computer processors and other hardware components employs thousands of Israelis and has exports from Israel totaling over $1 billion per year. They are one of Israel’s oldest foreign supporters, having established their first development center outside of the US in 1974 in Haifa. Al-Awda (the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition) has urged action against Intel for building a facility on the land of former village Iraq Al Manshiya, which was cleansed in 1949.
8. Sabra
   This brand of hummus, baba ghanoush and other foods is co-owned by Israel’s second-largest food company The Strauss Group and Pepsico. On the “Corporate Responsibility” section of its website, The Strauss Group boasts of its relationship to the Israeli Army, offering food products and political support.
9. Sara Lee
   Sara Lee holds a 30% stake in Delta Galil (see #2) and is the world’s largest clothing manufacturer, which owns or is affiliated with such brands as Hanes, Playtex, Champion, Leggs, Sara Lee Bakery, Ball Park hotdogs, Wonderbra, and many others. Similar to L’Oreal (see #4), a representative of Sara Lee received the Jubilee Award from Netanyahu for its commitment to business with Israel.
10. Victoria’s Secret
    Most of Victoria’s Secret’s bras are produced by Delta Galil (see #2), and much of the cotton is also grown in Israel on confiscated Palestinian land. Victoria’s Secret has also been the target of labor rights’ groups for sourcing products from companies with labor violations, and by environmental groups for their unsustainable use of paper in producing their catalogues. That’s not sexy!

Remember, it’s also important to let these companies — and the stores that sell them — know that we will not support them as long as they support Israeli apartheid!

#BDS:Campuses work to further the BDS movement

The apartheid situation in South Africa ended in the 1990s in large part because of boycotts on college campuses, and many scholars have argued that the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS) is the most effective way for ending the current blockade and occupation of Palestine by Israeli military forces.

The BDS movement against companies with Israeli ties has been active at American campuses in recent weeks in response to desperate pleas from human rights organizations, the United Nations, and world political leaders to end the occupation.

Sabra hummus removed after divestment push

On November 19, Chicago's DePaul University announced that their dining services organization would discontinue the sale of hummus made by Sabra, an Israeli brand that students have said is known for its vocal and material support of the Israeli army, which has been accused of numerous war crimes in Gaza by the U.N. The products were removed from store shelves for the rest of the semester with a ban likely in the near future according to the Huffington Post.

DePaul's Students for Justice in Palestine organization provided research that the Strauss Group, which co-owns Sabra hummus, had direct monetary ties with Israeli forces that continue to enforce the illegal occupations of Palestinian land.

The boycott is being used as a blueprint for how to effect change at the college level from the ground up.

Sabra hummus is also the target of a boycott launched by The Princeton Committee on Palestine at Princeton University in New Jersey as the group has created a referendum asking the school's dining services to sell an alternative brand of hummus.

#BDS: Princeton students vote on alternate hummus brands

PRINCETON, N.J. – Princeton University students voted Monday in a referendum by a pro-Palestine student group on whether to expand the school's hummus offerings.

The student group Princeton Committee for Palestine wants university-run stores to offer alternative brands of the Middle Eastern chickpea dip because they say the only brand available is linked to human rights violations.

The brand, Sabra, is owned by PepsiCo and Strauss Group, and Strauss' website says it supports members of the Israeli military.

The group has been pushing for the university to boycott and get rid of its investments in companies that make donations to parts of the Israeli military that it says violate human rights.

Ilya Welfeld, a spokeswoman for Sabra, which has headquarters in Queens, N.Y., and Richmond, Va., said Sabra only makes donations in North America — and none of them are political.

But the Strauss Group, an Israeli food conglomerate, says on its website that it makes contributions for the "welfare, cultural and educational activities" of members of the Israeli military.

Students seeking the referendum made it happen by collecting 200 signatures. If the effort is successful, it would mean the student government would make a formal request to the Ivy League school's administration to provide additional brands of hummus.

The pro-Israel student group Tigers of Israel opposes the referendum. The group says the allegations raised by the other side are sketchy.

The results of the vote are scheduled to be released Friday.

The referendum was originally scheduled for last week but was canceled then because of a goof: The wording called for Sabra hummus not to be offered at university stores rather than for additional products to be sold, too.

#BDS: Wikileaks on Sabra Hummus

A secret Wikileaks document confirms that Sabra Hummus tastes worse than an old shoe.

#BDS: Princeton students: Boycott Sabra hummus

Palestinian group wants Israeli product removed from campus stores because it serves 'occupation'

Hummus feeding the 'occupation'? Next week students at New Jersey's Princeton University will be called upon to prevent Sabra-brand hummus from being sold at restaurants and stores on campus.

A number of Palestinian students, joined by a Chilean Jew, decided to campaign against the tasty snack on the grounds that it serves "the occupation".

#BDS: Sabra Hummus: the real expiration dates

I have obtained the real (not the advertised) expiration dates for Sabra Hummus sold in your stores.  For all those Sabra Hummus containers, the real expiration date is in fact January 1983.  Make sure you note that.  And for your own health: boycott Sabra Hummus.

#BDS: Angry Arab obtained the secret recipe behind Sabra Hummus: (Boycott Sabra Hummus)

Here is the secret recipe obtained by Angry Arab secret correspondents:
1 cup hummus
4 cups tahini
5 cups of crushed cock roaches (they have to have wings)
3 heaping spoons of feces of rats
4 cups from the trash cans of sitting a Israeli prime minister
3 cups of vomit from massacring Israeli soldiers fresh after their killing sprees
3 spoons of Ariel Sharon's drool in his hospital bed
sprinkle of sands and dust from a street near you

Enjoy boycotting Sabra hummus

#BDS: Boycotters Claim Hummus Brand Has Unsavory Ties

Many Georgetown students only know Sabra as their favorite variety of chickpea spread for sale at Vital Vittles. The popular hummus brand, however, has been the target of boycotts at some peer universities.

The undergraduate student government at Princeton University may vote as soon as Nov. 29 on a referendum requesting that Princeton Dining Services offer a brand of hummus other than Sabra, according to The Daily Princetonian.

The request comes following allegations that Sabra hummus has been sent in care packages to Israeli military units allegedly perpetrating human rights violations in the West Bank. The issue has grabbed the attention of some Georgetown student groups keeping an eye on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I find the company’s extensive support of Israeli occupation forces problematic, and I think anyone who buys Sabra should consider the implications of such a purchase,” said Jackson Perry (COL ’12), treasurer for Students for Justice in Palestine.

#BDS: Update on DePaul’s divestment from Sabra products: Official Statement

By Sami Kishawi

Over one week ago, concerned students at DePaul University in Chicago prepared a campaign against the sale of Sabra hummus in campus food and dining facilities. University administrators privately announced to the students that thesale of Sabra products will temporarily be discontinued. Today, the university released a formal statement to the public:

DePaul University’s Dining Services has temporarily stopped the sale of Sabra hummus pending a review by the university’s Fair Business Practices Committee. The temporary suspension of the sale of the Sabra product was prompted by a request by the Students for Justice in Palestine at DePaul. The organization expressed concern that the company that makes the product has been a voice of support for the ongoing Israeli occupation. In the meantime, Chartwells, DePaul’s dining services vendor, will make hummus and serve it in the dining halls.

#BDS: DePaul divests from Israeli hummus product

Today marks another win for the global boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement against corporations that profit from severe human rights violations. Chicago’s very own DePaul University just announced that their dining services will be discontinuing the sale of hummus manufactured by Sabra, an Israeli brand known for its vocal and material support of Israeli Defense Forces. The administration has temporarily suspended the sale of Sabra products and will likely move towards permanently banning the brand from campus.

A little over two weeks ago, members of DePaul’s Students for Justice in Palestine expressed concern over the sale of Sabra products after discovering that Chartwells, which provides dining services to the university, had introduced the Israeli-brand hummus to food and dining facilities throughout campus. Acting on their concern, the students compiled research and revealed that the Strauss Group, co-owner of Sabra, has direct monetary ties with elite Israeli military forces currently and historically involved in the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. One week after bringing the issue to the attention of campus administrators, the university informed campaign organizers that Sabra products are set to be removed from shelves for the remainder of the school quarter and will most likely not be sold on campus in the future. (Read the email sent to administrators at the end of the post.)