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DePaul students vote to boycott Sabra Hummus

"The vast majority of students who voted in DePaul University’s student election last week were in favor of ending the sale of Sabra hummus in campus dining halls. CHICAGO, IL (May 22, 2010)—Last week, DePaul University’s Student Government Association  allowed a campus-wide referendum on whether or not Sabra hummus should be replaced with an alternative hummus brand  in campus dining halls. The referendum was presented by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and was the first to be placed on student government election ballot in at least ten years.

"The vast majority of students who voted in DePaul University’s student election last week were in favor of ending the sale of Sabra hummus in campus dining halls.

CHICAGO, IL (May 22, 2010)—Last week, DePaul University’s Student Government Association  allowed a campus-wide referendum on whether or not Sabra hummus should be replaced with an alternative hummus brand  in campus dining halls. The referendum was presented by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and was the first to be placed on student government election ballot in at least ten years. SJP has been campaigning to ban the product because its co-owner, the Strauss Group, provides financial support and supplies to two Israeli military units implicated in human rights abuses, the Golani and Givati brigades.

The results of the election came in on Friday. Over the course of four days, SJP mobilized 1,127 students to vote in favor of the removal of Sabra, making up nearly 80 percent of the total 1,467 votes. Only 332 students voted against the referendum, and 8 voted “other.” In order for a referendum to be valid, however, it must have a total voter turnout of no less than 1,500. Yet even if there were 1,500 votes, the referendum would have been non-binding, according to University officials.

Nevertheless, SJP is pleased with the number of students who voted in favor of replacing Sabra with an alternative brand of hummus. Yesterday, in open letter to the DePaul University community, SJP stated “the number of votes cast in favor of the referendum represents an incredible, landslide victory for our campaign to boycott Sabra hummus.”

Sabra hummus remains on campus shelves, pending a decision from the University’s Fair Business Practices Committee. As long as Sabra remains the school’s hummus brand of choice, SJP’s campaign is not over. SJP also stated in the letter that “through nonviolent and academic-based activism, SJP will continue our efforts to raise awareness of Israel’s human rights violations and strive for more socially conscious business relationships at DePaul University.”

On Tuesday, May 24, SJP will be hosting a follow-up event to discuss the importance of the campaign to boycott Sabra and other products that subsidize Israel’s occupation, discrimination and human rights violations of the Palestinian people. Titled The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights: The Boycott Movement Against Israeli Apartheid, the event will feature Ali Abunimah and Remi Kanazi."

Original article can be found here: http://sjpchicago.org/2011/05/21/open-letter-to-the-depaul-community-on-the-outcome-of-the-sabra-referendum-2/

The referendum stated:

“Sabra, which currently supplies hummus to the DePaul cafeteria, is co-owned by the Strauss Group. The Strauss group provides financial support and supplies to the Golani and Givati brigades of the Israeli military, which have been found by the United Nations to be violators of human rights. Are you in favor of replacing Sabra with an alternative brand of hummus?”

 

(1) http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-idf-s-golani-brigade-always-first-on-the-scene-at-the-front-line-1.267546


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