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Activists accuse hummus-buyers of ‘supporting genocide’
The supermarket apologised for the label which appeared in a London store this week
January 19, 2024 15:19
By, Georgia L Gilholy
1 min read
The supermarket apologised for the label which appeared in a London store this week
January 19, 2024 15:19ByGeorgia L Gilholy, Georgia L Gilholy
(JNS) Sainsbury’s has said it is “terribly sorry” after spoof pricing labels were spotted by pots of Israeli hummus accusing shoppers of “supporting genocide”.
The fake shelf labels, which were found Thursday morning at Vauxhall train station in London, said shoppers could purchase “apartheid hummus” for £19.48, a reference to the year of the establishment of the Jewish State.
It further encourages consumers to “search #BDS for more info” and notes, “Buying this product helps support genocide.”
In response to a social media post alerting Sainsbury’s to the label, a spokesperson said: “Hi there. I’m terribly sorry about the label. I would like to confirm that this label is not a Sainsbury’s label and has been placed there by somebody. I have fed this back [to] the relevant teams for an internal review. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.”
Seen during rush hour at your Vauxhall station branch @Sainsburys. Is it now your policy to mislabel @Sabra products with divisive political messaging? Can customers be sure the product itself hasn’t been tampered with? pic.twitter.com/m0OFCD8HsJ
— Georgia Leigha Gilholy (@llggeorgia) January 18, 2024
Similar stickers have been placed by pro-Palestine activists in various Sainsbury’s and Tesco supermarkets across the United Kingdom.
The anti-Israel BDS movement claims Sabra hummus is linked to the Israel Defence Forces through its association with the Israel-based Strauss Group, which co-owns the brand with PepsiCo.
The UK Lawyers for Israel charity contends that this connection is a joint venture based in the United States, whereas Sabra hummus sold in the UK is made by the Israeli kibbutz Lohamei Hagheta’ot, founded by survivors of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, distributed by Osem and owned by Nestlé.