Activism and BDS Beat 11 May 2011
Students in Chicago campaigning to boycott Sabra brand hummus have put out a short and sweet video with a strong boycott message. Here’s the statement accompanying the video:
Founded in 1986 as Sabra-Blue & White Foods, the company was sold to Israeli food manufacturer the Strauss Group in 2005, a corporation known for its explicit support for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), namely the elite Golani and Givati infantry brigades. Although the IDF itself has a long history of violating international law, the Golani and Givati Brigades, since 1948, have been notorious for their severe human rights abuses in Lebanon and Palestine. The brigades have recently attracted attention for their atrocious war crimes during Israel’s three-week assault on Gaza that killed over 1,400 Palestinian men, women and children, most of whom were unarmed civilians. The Strauss Group’s active support for the Golani and Givati brigades is an active endorsement of egregious violations of human rights. We call on all people of conscience to boycott Sabra and all other products manufactured by Israeli corporations that support the State of Israel’s policies of ethnic cleansing and occupation of the Palestinian people. It’s time to pressure Israel to comply with international law. Let’s boycott!
The Students for Justice in Palestine campaign to boycott Sabra hummus at DePaul University in Chicago was recently identified by the Jewish Daily Forward as one of the main “BDS incidents on North American campuses” from January 2005 to April 2011.
This is not the first campaign targeting Sabra. Philadelphia activists most memorably chanted “No justice, no chickpeas!” in this flash mob action captured on video.
