Norman Finkelstein may have been forced out at DePaul University - barely missing tenure - but the Holocaust denier's spirit lives on at DePaul where there's now a food fight over where to buy the Humus.
Apparently the activists at De Paul University are made of sterner stuff and prepared to make the ultimate snack-rifice. That institution, which briefly banished and then reinstated the offending legumes last fall, has become a battlefield once again.
Sabra hummus reappeared on the dining tables there until the Fair Business Practices Committee could issue a judgment, but in the meantime, SJP, unwilling to wait for the result, secured a referendum on a proposed ban. As the Huffington Post puts it with understatement, the language on the ballot is "somewhat leading":
“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?”
Voting is open until Friday. This is the first such campus-wide referendum there in a decade. (Nice to know the students have their priorities straight.) Oh, and by the way, according to a University spokeswoman: the result is not binding.
Two clashes over hummus at DePaul in half a year: once more into the fridge fray. Not exactly the Second Battle of the Marne, but as they say of academic politics: the fights are so nasty because the stakes are so low.
Princeton students vote down boycott of Strauss hummus
You may recall the story of Israel's Strauss food conglomerate taking its support for the IDF off its English-language website in a bid to get the BDS'ers off its case. Strauss won a victory at Princeton University at the end of last week, although I'd be much happier if they hadn't compromised their principles while doing it.
With a vote count of 1014 to 699, the Princeton undergraduate student body voted down a referendum asking for the University to provide alternatives to Sabra hummus on campus shelves, Undergraduate Student Government President Mike Yaroshefsky ‘12 said in an email this afternoon.
The referendum, introduced last week by the Princeton Committee on Palestine, had faced some stumbling blocks between the initial petition and the official referendum. They sought the referendum due to allegations that the Strauss Group, co-owners of Sabra Hummus, were providing aid to an Israeli defense force that has allegedly committed human rights violations.
This story is developing, so we’ll let you know more as soon as we can.
Like I said, I'd be a lot happier if they had won this victory without compromising their principles.
Why Strauss took support of the IDF off its English-language website
Earlier, I reported that Strauss had taken an affirmation of support for the IDF off its website. Well, here's why - this is a videotape from Philadelphia.
Let's go to the videotape.
Sickening, isn't it? Where are the police?
No, I don't think Strauss was right. But we must have a response. Remember the buycott of Israeli wine in Toronto a year and a half ago? That's a response.
The Strauss food conglomerate, one of Israel's largest, has given in to the BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) movement in the United States by removing an affirmation supporting the IDF from its English-language website.
Activists from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in Philadelphia recently initiated a boycott campaign against Sabra and Tribe humous products, purportedly in protest of the company’s public support for the Israeli military.
Widely deemed to be one of the great economic successes in the history of the Jewish state, the Strauss Group owns 50 percent of the Sabra Dipping Company LLC, and is the second- largest Israeli food and beverage company in America. Sabra humous is one of the many products they produce and is said to be the best-selling humous brand in the United States.
Until recently, the Strauss Group affirmed its support for the IDF on its website under the banner of “Corporate Responsibility” with a statement that read: “Our connection with soldiers goes as far back as the country, and even further. We see a mission and need to continue to provide our soldiers with support, to enhance their quality of life and service conditions, and to sweeten their special moments. We have adopted the Golani reconnaissance platoon for over 30 years and provide them with an ongoing variety of food products for their training or missions, and provide personal care packages for each soldier that completes the path.”
The company came under direct pressure in Philadelphia when Sabra humous made the BDS hit list. About two dozen activists from a local pro-Palestinian rights group filed into the Fresh Grocer store on 40th and Walnut streets last month to launch a public boycott of the products. In a choreographed dance routine to the beat of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone,” the protesters alleged that the corporate parents of Sabra and Tribe humous subsidize Israeli human-rights abuses by supporting the IDF.
Following the performance at the supermarket, the Strauss Group removed all references to its support of the IDF from the English section of its website. Kate Zaiden, a spokesperson for the Philly BDS group then called on the company to clarify whether the removal of the references means that Strauss no longer supports the Golani Brigade, or whether the move was simply an acknowledgment that support for the Israeli military is no longer seen as beneficial to Strauss’s international image.
Actually, that's not quite what Zaiden said. She asked whether removing the video from the English website - while leaving it on Strauss' Hebrew web site (link in Hebrew) - means that affirmation no longer supports the IDF or whether the image being on its website is no longer beneficial to the company.
My friend Debbie Schlussel is furious at Strauss' fecklessness and is calling for a boycott of Strauss in the US until they put the Golani Brigade back on the English-language site.
So, that’s why I will no longer buy Sabra hummus, Elite chocolates and candy, or Must gum (all products of Strauss–see Strauss Group’s complete product line). You’d think a company that is the second largest food and beverage company in Israel and the sixth largest coffee company in the world would have more guts.
But you would be wrong. In the case of Strauss and its hummus, chocolates, etc., think with your mind and not your stomach. And stay far away. Contact Strauss Group and let the company know why you will no longer buy their products.
But before you do, read the whole thing. By the way, you could boycott them in Israel too, but there are a lot more products to boycott.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
Norman Finkelstein may have been forced out at DePaul University - barely missing tenure - but the Holocaust denier's spirit lives on at DePaul where there's now a food fight over where to buy the Humus. 
