ObelA
Welcome to the NObela campaign. A nationwide effort to get the Obela brand removed from supermarket shelves in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Why?
Because the Obela brand (part of the Sabra Dipping Company) is 50% owned by the Strauss group, one of the largest food producers in Israel, with headquarters in Yafa (Tel Aviv). Strauss Group actively funds and supports the Israeli military, including the Golani and Givati Brigades, which have massacred thousands of Palestinians over the last four decades, with the UN recognizing the war crimes committed in their 2009 Goldstone Report. Any purchase of Sabra products generates income for the Strauss Group, which then furthers the illegal Israeli occupation, its human rights violations against Palestinians, and its current genocide against in Gaza.
As of 2024, the Strauss Group lists on its website many partnerships with Israeli organisations, including “Friends of IDF”, which works directly with the Israeli military to distribute funds to soldiers.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and that Israel is enacting an apartheid on Palestinians in occupied Palestine. The ICJ said that Israel is under the obligation to immediately end its illegal occupation, cease construction of illegal settlements, evacuate settlers from the occupied territories, and make reparation to all affected people for the damage caused. Israel has stated they will not be complying with this and as such is in direct violation of international law.
Following this, in September 2024, the United Nations General Assembly voted voted overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution that demands that Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Say NO to Obela when doing your shopping
Don’t buy any Obela or Strauss-owned products.
The Obela range includes a wide variety of hummus’ and dips. Make sure to boycott all of them. In addition, the ‘Copperpot’ range of dips is owned by Obela so should also be off your shopping list.
Encourage your friends, family & co-workers to take Obela off their shopping lists too
Explain why Obela is not a company anyone should be supporting. Refer them to this website if you are struggling to find the right words or they need more information about why Obela is boycotted. We also have a flyer that you can print out and give to people to help facilitate the discussion around Obela.
Download flyer here
Add BOYCOTT stickers to Obela products in store.
Help improve the marketing of the Obela brand by making people aware that if they purchase these items they are funding a genocidal military.
Download stickers here
Contact your local supermarket to explain why they should stop stocking Obela products
Obela Hummus is sold at Foodstuffs outlets in New Zealand (New World, Pak ‘n Save, Four Square and Gilmours) and at Woolworths (formerly Countdown).
There are several ways to communicate to the store that Obela should be removed from their shelves:
online COntact forms:
Foodstuffs has an online contact form where you can make a complaint about Obela.
Each individual chain also has its own contact form. You can choose to send it to their head office or to an individual store. We suggest doing both.
emails or phone calls:
You can also email or phone head offices or stores directly to request they remove Obela their shelves.
To make this easier, we have pulled together a database of Foodstuffs HQ and store details, as well as some wording you can use for your corredspondance.
View email text here
IN-STORE COMPLAINTs:
Foodstuffs have a complaint process for their customers, which they take seriously. This is your opportunity to let Foodstuffs know your feelings about Obela products and that it is unacceptable that supermarkets in Aotearoa are helping to fund a foreign army that is committing genocide.
Go into your local Pak ‘n Save, New World, Four Square, Woolworths, or Fresh Choice supermarket.
Confirm if they stock Obela products in their chilled department.
If they do, go to the information desk and ask to lodge an official customer complaint with the manager. They should give you a customer complaint form.
Complete the form, requesting that Obela products be removed from the store due to its parent company, Strauss Group, being directly involved in funding the Israeli army and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Request the complaint be escalated to the supermarket's head office.
Are you an employee or
owner of a store that
stocks Obela products?
If you need help addressing this issue with management or your head office, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
You can also use the above flyer to help you facilitate the conversation and provide important facts for this discussion.
A great place to donate un-used stock is Kiwi Harvest.
