All you eager consumers of this savory garbanzo/tahini union, know this: you might not be voting on the fate of Princeton hummus today. After an appeal on Sunday night, the PCP’s referendum may not appear on Monday as originally planned.
For the uninitiated, here’s a quick recap of The Great Hummus Debacle of 2010:
Currently, the only hummus served on campus is an American brand called Sabra, partially owned by the Israel-based Strauss Group. The Princeton Committee on Palestine (PCP) has claimed that Strauss Group is propagating human rights violations because they support the Israeli military. PCP created a petition for their cause and got over 200 student signatures — the amount required to get a referendum onto the USG ballot, where the entire student body can vote on it. The PCP’s referendum insisted that the USG issue a formal recommendation to Dining Services, asking them to provide alternative hummus options. It was cleared to appear on tomorrow’s ballot.
But no!
In the first-ever appeal of a USG referendum, Samson Schatz ’13 contended that the referendum was no longer valid because it used different language than the initial petition, thus violating the “democratic process.” At a Sunday night USG meeting, he pointed out that PCP had rephrased their proposal in between getting the signatures and sending it to USG for inclusion on the ballot. Apparently the petition proposed an boycott of Sabra hummus; the referendum did not explicitly demand a boycott, but instead called for for more hummus options on campus. “So you have these two statements where one said that the aim is to stop the sale of Sabra hummus, and you have the actual ballot which says nothing of the sort — it says offer alternatives,” he said. Focusing on this discrepancy, he hoped to nullify the referendum because it did precisely convey the opinions of the original 200 signatories. Although Schatz acknowledged he was vice president of Tigers for Israel, he said that his objection was purely technical and not at all political.
Yoel Bitran ’11, president of PCP, said that he was never made aware of these “rigorous” standards of wording. “We had no indication that the same exact language had to be in one and in the other,” he said. Bitran also noted that PCP had submitted their proposal well ahead of time, and would have had time to get 200 signatures on the revised wording had they been informed of the issue. He made clear that PCP had a two-pronged campaign: they are appealing to students to personally boycott Sabra hummus, and (through the referendum) they are appealing to Dining Services “explicitly and exclusively” to supply other hummus options. These two motions, he clarified, are completely independent of one another.
The Senate questioned both Schatz and Bitran before entering their discussion. One senator mentioned that the tone of the two phrasings was different. Another said that anyone who would have signed the petition would have logically signed the revised version, which is in a sense a weaker formulation of the original: “boycott Sabra brand” vs. “provide alternatives to Sabra brand.”
The verdict?
After a discussion, the Senate voted: the appeal passed. According to an email from USG president Mike Yaroshefsky, PCP has two options:
1. Keep the referendum on tomorrow’s ballot, using the original wording of the petition (the one that demanded a Sabra boycott).
2. Get 200 signatures on the rephrased version by Friday at noon. If they do so, that referendum will appear on another ballot next week.
It is currently unclear what option they will choose. Check back for updates. Either way, you late-mealers will get your Sabra; the only question is whether or not it will be competing with other hummuses. (Well, that was not entirely truthful. There is another question, which is whether “hummuses” is an actual word.)
Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly described Sabra as an Israeli brand; Sabra is an American brand partially owned by the Israel-based Strauss Group.
“hummi”
So wait… Bitran thinks it’s too “rigorous” to require that the referendum match the meaning of the petition that people sign? Forget about requiring the exact wording — even if the wording doesn’t have to be the same, the meaning ought to be. Here it clearly wasn’t. Using PCP’s standards, I could collect 200 signatures for a petition calling on the University to end the entire policy of grade deflation entirely but then make the wording of the referendum that the University should “increase the amount of A’s given out by professors.” The two goals are related but not the same. But why stop there? Why not let the goals of the petition and referendum be totally unrelated? Based on what PCP did here, I could petition for the University to recognize Greek organizations but use the signatures on the petition to submit language to the USG calling for a renovation of the bathroom in my dorm.
USG made the obvious move in not allowing PCP to switch up the wording. Shame they went on to bend the rules by giving PCP the extra time to do a second petition. Surely the USG constitution doesn’t allow the rules to be bent to accommodate incompetence. This isn’t rocket science, people; just be clear about what you’re petitioning for the first time.
The #1 Hummus brand in all Canada is Fontaine Sante Inc Montreal Quebec Canada – privately owned by 3 people from Lebanon. They have 46% of all Canada Hummus business – it is all natural with no preservatives – the best Hummus ever. Now being sold in USA under Fountain of Health brand name – and with USA distribution with Kroger the #2 USA grocery company. Kroger unfortunately not around N Jersey. The Hummus is available in New York / New Jersey area thru a distributor. If ANY interest as a replacement to Sabra / Tribe – please call me at 813/ 928 8508. Our Hummus is the best ever – costs about same as others. We also make dips / spreads etc – and all #1 in all Canada categories.
Our owners are proud to be from Lebanon – started the business 18 yrs ago and all our products are NON Kosher. Edward McIlwaine – I am the USA Sales Mgr.
“Our owners are proud to be from Lebanon – started the business 18 yrs ago and all our products are NON Kosher.”
Are they deliberately non-kosher?
Seems a little exclusionary…
Care for a little chickpea spread with the bitter after-taste of anti-semitism?
There is another hummus on campus – try Olive’s in the U-Store.
Sabra is an American company – not Israeli. It is not an “Israeli brand” as noted. One of Sabra’s parent company’s is the Israel based Strauss Group.
Thanks for pointing that error out — I’ve made the correction.
Just another apologist. Who thinks that his “Standing up” for Who dips there pretzel stick in which chummus will solve the whole issue. Hope that he never gets a job might spend his time demonstrating whether it’s right or wrong that there are 60 seconds in a minute. How many other products gain attention based on origin, who the board of directors are. Were the product is produced.
Yoel Bitran, I know, I know, you live in America and you think you are standing up for something. Or is it that illusive 15 minutes of fame, in a school where that can be difficult to attain. If you are not sure if your actions could backfire, read the comment by Edward McIlwaine very carefully and to the end. So Princeton student………can you spell anti-Semite? Couldn’t you better spend your time raising funds for food for the poverty stricken in America or for water and inoculations for the people in 3rd world countries? Use your energies to pay forward. Positive approaches serve our world better than negative ones.
Some perspective on your current hummus battle:
http://www.divestthis.com/2010/12/food-fight.html
Mr. McIlwane tells us “…Fontaine Sante Inc Montreal Quebec Canada – privately owned by 3 people from Lebanon…Our owners are proud to be from Lebanon …and all our products are NON Kosher.”
Does that mean that the owners are citizens of Lebanon and currently reside there, or only that they or their forebears were born in Lebanon? Can Mr. McIlwane assure us that those owners are not Jewish or in any way connected to Israel, since the point of this boycott movement is to stigmatize and inflict economic pain on the Jewish state, isn’t it?
The Fontaine Sante website says that all of its products are “compatible with vegetarian diets,” and does not assert that they are “non-kosher.” But in the context of the PCP’s BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) campaign, Mr. McIlwaine claims his company’s hummus is “NON Kosher.” Is Mr. McIlwaine under the impression that a product is automatically “non-kosher” if it does not carry a rabbinical hechsher? More importantly, or at least interestingly, why does he think to bring up the subject of kashrut? He wants to warn off those who won’t eat non-kosher products? If Fontaine Sante’s hummus is truly non-kosher (what makes it so?), then how at the same time can it be halal, if it is, and thus acceptable to observant Muslims? Shouldn’t Mr. McIlwane similarly warn off those who won’t eat non-halal foods?
Mr Mcllwaine is correct. It is not owned by a Jewish group. They are owned by 3 people from Lebanon. I can assure you that Fountain Of Health hummus is not tied to any religious or political affiliate.
How do I know this? I work for Fountain of Health…and yes, it is indeed the best hummus I have had.
If Princeton is smart, they would call Mr. Mcllwaine. We can assure you; that you will not be disappointed…