Philadelphia, 14 February 2011. The Philadelphia campaign to boycott two popular snack
foods that fund Israeli human rights abuses in occupied Palestine took new steps today to
pressure a local supermarket chain to “de-shelve” Sabra Hummus and Tribe Hummus. In a
videotaped “direct action for Valentine’s Day,” five members of the Philadelphia Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions Coalition delivered over a hundred hand-crafted and hand-written
valentine cards to Patrick Burns, CEO of the Fresh Grocer stores, at the chain’s Drexel Hill
corporate offices. The visit was filmed by the group, which has said it will make the videotape
available on YouTube and other websites within the next several days and expects it to be seen
widely.
In October, members of “Philly BDS” surprised customers and employees of the Fresh Grocer’s
flagship store at 40th and Walnut Streets near the University of Pennsylvania by staging a “flash
dance” in which they sang and danced to a tune by Lady Gaga with lyrics adapted to their
boycott message. The videotape of that action has now been viewed by more than 67,000
people worldwide, inspiring similar flash dance actions in cities from St. Louis to Tel Aviv.
Following the Philly BDS lead, campaigns to boycott Sabra and Tribe Hummus are currently
being planned on university campuses and in several cities around the United States.
The Valentine-themed event began at a silent art auction and fundraising dance party
entitled “Make Love Not War,” which was held by the group last Friday evening in West
Philadelphia. In addition to dancing and dressing up for photographs taken in an on-
site “kissing booth,” party attendees bid on crafts, paintings, collectible posters, photographs
and other donated art work. Most also found a few minutes at an oversized crafts table
to make personalized cards using red construction paper, bits of paper doilies, glitter and
glue provided by Philly BDS. “Dear Mr. Burns, Please spread love, not apartheid hummus,”
read one of the cards handmade by a party-goer who supports the Sabra and Tribe Hummus
boycott but otherwise has not been part of the local campaign to support human rights of
Palestinians. Other hand-crafted cards called on Fresh Grocer to “C’mon and Be Our Valentine,
Support Human Rights in Palestine.”
After delivering the large basket of valentine cards to Mr. Burns in Drexel Hill on Monday
afternoon, the activists returned to West Philadelphia where they joined a large crowd
of boycott supporters sporting the group’s signature red sequined headbands in front of
the Fresh Grocer store on Walnut Street. Buoyed by their afternoon “love caravan,” they
distributed valentine candy with cards describing the Sabra and Tribe boycott campaign to
shoppers and passers-by. “We’re in this campaign for the long haul,” said Evan Hoffman,
whose face poked through a tall red cardboard heart. “We will do what it takes to make sure
that our message of love for the people of Palestine stays visible and that Fresh Grocer knows
we’re serious about getting Sabra and Tribe out of their stores. We believed Fresh Grocer
when they said they cared about human rights and community – now we want the corporation
to live up to its word.”