The Associated Students of UC Riverside Senate voted Wednesday night to recommend removing Sabra hummus from campus stores and food stations. The move is meant to send a signal to companies that the governing body believes supports the oppression of the Palestinian people.
Sabra reportedly provides support to the Israeli military.
UCR administrators said they don’t plan to take any action in the wake of the vote.
“The University has no plans to change brands offered for sale or consumption in its stores and dining facilities,” said a statement released by campus spokesman James Grant. He cited the university’s policy on community principles as precedent for the decision.
Oscar Loera Gonzalez, vice president of external affairs for the student association, said he’s hoping that isn’t the end of the discussion.
“I highly doubt that they will completely ignore the students,” Gonzalez said. “This is clearly what our student government wants.”
Gonzalez said the senate vote to support the measure was 13-0 with one abstention.
“I don’t think they’re completely set about it,” he said of UCR administrators. “I’m planning on meeting with a few of them (along) with the author of the resolution.”
If the product is removed, he said, he thinks it might spur greater action.
“I believe this can have an affect on other UCs,” he said. “If they vote to remove similar products or divest from any companies,” it could impact UC investments as a whole.
This is the second time in two years that the issue has been raised on the campus.
In 2015, the student senate passed a resolution of divestment, encouraging the campus administrators to not do business with companies that in some way are tied to the Israeli military. Sabra is jointly owned by Pepsico and the Israel-based Strauss Group, each with a 50/50 stake in the company. Strauss Group reportedly contributes to the Golani Brigade, a unit of the Israeli army.
A spokeswoman for Sabra, Ilya Welfeld, said Sabra has been “falsely accused” of supporting the Israeli military. She did not deny the Strauss Group’s support.
Proposed bans were considered at a number of universities in 2010 and 2011.
For a brief time that year, Sabra was removed from stores and dining spots on the UCR campus. It was replaced by another brand of hummus. University officials later said the removal of the Sabra product was a mistake and reintroduced it. The school then sold both brands.
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