De Paul Spreads the love. Sabra is there to stay

The latest battle in the hummus wars is over. DePaul University officials say a referendum that sought to have the Sabra hummus currently served on campus removed has failed to receive the 1500 votes needed to pass. Sabra is there to stay

The referendum was placed on the ballot by Students for Justice in Palestine.(Students for Just Us in Palestine) The organization contends the New York based Sabra, the Strauss Group, gives financial support to two Israeli military units accused of human rights abuses.

It's been over ten years since students at DePaul University in Chicago have had a referendum on their student government ballot.

From the DePaul Hillel Blog

"While this issue relates to Israel-Palestine, we trust that DePaul's leaders do not think it is legitimate to boycott a company whose charitable donations, in addition to assisting premature infants in Serbia and providing scholarships for children with cancer, also support soldiers, just as American companies do, without taking a stance on the policies which have put those soldiers into harms way. Should Hershey, Target, Goodyear, Kellogg, Best Buy and other companies who support our troops abroad also be boycotted by DePaul? "

Personally, I love my Sabra hummus( the lemon hummus is lovely- clear bright flavors) on whole wheat bread with provolone cheese and crisp fresh sprouts.

UPDATE
When is a Loss a Win? When Ali Abunimah says it is. Here's his press release:

Students at DePaul University in Chicago voted by a large margin in a referendum asking if they support ending sales of Sabra brand hummus on their campus. Due to a technicality, however, the result will not be binding. A note received by The Electronic Intifada from campus activists with Students for Justice in Palestine at the university announced today the results of voting that took place earlier this week:

Results of the referendum: 1127 voted in favor; 332 voted against ; 8 extraneous write ins. To be valid a referendum must have a turnout of no less than 1500 students. Although we had an amazing win, the referendum is not valid as we were 36 votes short. But this isn’t over. SJP will make a statement about what’s next for the campaign...


Ok, Ali. De Paul's got over 25,000 students. Less than 2,000 voted. Of those, you still didn't scrap enough to pull off a win. Thats 04% of the students at DePaul, Ali. Think your headline: DePaul students vote by large margin to ban Sabra hummus might be a trifle misleading?