(JTA) — The University of California, Riverside, removed Sabra hummus from its dining facilities in response to protests by the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter on campus.
Campus dining removed the product last week following a discussion with the pro-Palestinian group’s chapter, which in a letter sent to campus dining heads noted that Sabra is half-owned by the Strauss Group, which has publicly supported the Israel Defense Forces troops. The letter said that the IDF’s “history of severe human rights violations” warranted the removal.
“During this meeting, dining agreed to change the brand of hummus being served at the campus store, stating that the request was easy since there are so many alternative brands and that they don’t want to sell products that upset or offend any students on campus,” a Students for Justice in Palestine news release read.
U.C. Riverside had only begun offering Sabra brand hummus last fall. It will now offer Mediterranean Snacks’ brand of hummus, Tapaz2Go.
In March 2014, the school’s student government passed a resolution urging administrators to divest from Israel, but rescinded it the following month.
DePaul University briefly stopped offering Sabra hummus in 2011 before reinstating it, and a year earlier, students at Princeton University voted on the issue. In neither case was Sabra hummus permanently removed from the campus dining facilities.
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