A group of students at Swarthmore College is demanding that Sabra Hummus be removed from campus and banned from being sold. According to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), “Sabra is owned by the Strauss Group, a multinational corporation that invests in, financially supports, and even sends care packages to the Golani Brigade of the Israeli armed forces.” Their petition rambles on to say the college is “accessory to the occupation of Palestine” by supporting the sale of Sabra Hummus and claims that selling Sabra hummus on campus supports violations of human rights carried out by Israeli forces. They further call upon the president of the college to recognize the “illegal occupation of Palestinian land.”
However, the group is not without opposition on campus. Swarthmore Students for Israel released a statement via their Facebook page denouncing the petition stating, “The BDS movement is an effectively anti-semitic movement which seeks to delegitimize and ultimately eliminate the State of Israel.”
BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) is a Palestinian-led movement that seeks an end to what Palestinians describe as “colonialism and Apartheid.” For supporters of the Jewish state, the BDS movement represents anti-semitism and seeks to dismantle the State of Israel. While those in the movement have described the desired outcome as peaceful, opponents of the movement say it’s anything but.
The petition at Swarthmore College has received letters of support from various campus groups. These include African-American, LGBT, and Muslim student organizations. The hummus in question is currently sold in three different locations on campus where food is sold to students. Selling hummus offers students a healthier option to much of the junk food that can be found on college campuses. It also gives those with different ways of eating, such as vegans, extra choices. Sabra hummus is actually delicious and I’ve been known to finish an entire container in one sitting. But I digress.
The Swarthmore Students for Israel offered up a solution to the petition. “We would like to proudly announce a fundraiser we will be running for Hand in Hand, an organization which fosters coexistence between Israeli Jews and Arabs by bringing them together in a classroom setting. We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who seeks peace and coexistence to join us in this effort as we seek to embody Hand in Hand’s mission of ‘learning together, living together—and inspiring broad support for social inclusion and civic equality in Israel.’” The group said they won’t pursue further dialogue on the matter of boycotting Sabra hummus.
The calls to ban Sabra hummus on Swarthmore College come amidst rising tensions between Palestine and Israel as protests in Gaza have turned deadly. Several Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces as they approached the fence that serves as Israel’s border. A journalist was killed while covering the protests, sparking further outrage over Israel’s use of force. The BDS movement reinforces the idea that boycotting Israel will ultimately put an end to “the invasion.” This perpetuates pro-Palestinian denial of Israel’s right to exist.
