Georgetown Sabra Restaurant Popped In and Protesters Popped Up

posted on: Oct 1, 2014

On Monday afternoon, pro-Palestinian protesters peacefully demonstrated outside the new Sabra pop-up shop in Georgetown, interrupting its Washington D.C. debut. The small crowd of protesters held signs and discouraged potential customers from trying out the new restaurant. The pop-up shop will only be around for the next month, but local D.C. residents, siblings, Marcella and Ramsey Aburdene, used the restaurant opening as an opportunity to raise attention to companies that profit from the violation of Palestinian rights.

The Aburdenes are part of the ongoing Palestinian Boycott Divestment Sanctions (<a href=”http://www.bdsmovement.net”>BDS</a>) campaign to fight companies like Sabra, which continue to fund the mechanisms that support the Israeli political, economic, and military occupation of Palestine. The Campaigners and groups call on consumers not to buy Israeli goods and for businesses not to buy or sell them.

The Georgetown protesters aimed most of their anger at The Strauss Group, the majority shareholder of Sabra. The Strauss Group, an Israeli company, provides financial support and supplies to two brigades of the Israeli army, Golani and Givati. The Golani Brigade played key roles in the Israeli army’s assault on the Gaza Strip in 2008-09 during “Operation Cast Lead.” Yet, the obvious human rights violations inflicted by the Israeli Defense Forces on Palestinians does not seem to trouble the Strauss Group nor hamper their unwavering support for Israel. In 2011, Ofta Strauss, the company’s chairwoman expressed a closeness to the IDF, and told <a href=”http://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2011/11/04/israeli-tycoon-talks-with-protesters-then-lowers-her-companys-prices/”>Forbes magazine</a> that “Israeli soldiers are not army; Israeli soldiers are our kids.”

Still, hummus has become more popular than ever, and Sabra is the world’s largest hummus distributor holding almost 60% of the hummus market, hence the importance of boycotting their products. Today, downloading apps like <a href=”http://www.buycott.com”>Buycott</a>, which “helps you to organize your everyday consumer spending so you can fund causes you support and avoid funding those you disagree with,” have made it easier to boycott certain companies or products like the Strauss Group and Sabra Company. Together, app technology and moral minded citizens like the Aburdenes can foster attention to the larger Palestinian cause and BDS movement.

Tanya Nawas