Man in COURT on criminal damage to HOUMOUS charges during pro-Palestine protest

A nurse from Hastings is fighting a charge of criminal damage to a load of Sabra houmous which he says is ‘helping to fund Israel’s genocide’.

Sabra Houmous gate: protesting Israel’s genocide

Father-of-two Chris Dindar – dubbed the #Houmous1 – will plead not guilty to a charge of criminal damage relating to a peaceful protest at a Sainsbury’s supermarket where he called for a boycott of Sabra houmous when he comes before Hastings Magistrates Court next week.

He is accused of damaging houmous worth £150.

Chris said:

This is a ridiculous charge brought on behalf of a private company to quell peaceful protest against the genocide Israel is carrying out in Gaza.

Chris says he was moved to take action after seeing images of “children’s bodies shredded by bombs”, aiming to highlight the fact that Sabra houmous parent company Strauss Group is openly funding the Israeli military. He noted:

People need to understand where their money is going. Sabra has direct links with Israel’s Golani and Givati brigades, which are responsible for some of Israel’s most horrific war crimes. It is shameful we have supermarkets in town selling their products.

Boycott Sabra

Sabra houmous is partly owned by the Strauss group, an Israeli multinational food and drink corporation which states that part of its approach to corporate responsibility is to provide Israeli soldiers with “support, to enhance their quality of life and service conditions, and sweeten their special moments”.

Israel is currently facing a charge of ‘plausible genocide’ at the International Court of Justice while the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Israel’s leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Katy Colley, chair of the Hastings & District Palestine Solidarity Campaign (HDPSC), said:

Chris is a deeply humane individual who has campaigned hard this past year, like so many of us across the country, to try stop this appalling genocide which has now claimed over 42,000 Palestinian lives.

We see this outrageous prosecution as part of a coordinated campaign to silence the voices of conscience in this country.

Three of our group are being prosecuted for their part in a peaceful protest General Dynamics arms factory in this town, which is profiting from the death of thousands of Palestinians.

Meanwhile, British journalists are muzzled and ordinary people are being prevented from speaking out against the mass murder of Palestinians.

We are proud of Chris and salute his efforts to highlight the importance of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Apartheid Israel. We all need to stop buying into genocide and apartheid.

HDPSC Twinning Officer Grace Lally added:

The Israeli state is in permanent and flagrant breach of international humanitarian law and yet our government will not even condemn these violations, let alone sanction them. Meanwhile, the law is being used to protect houmous, but not children from bombs. It seems like a sick joke.

Support Chris, BDS houmous

Chris has started a fundraiser to help with legal costs for the Sabra houmous case, which will be heard at 11am at Hastings Magistrates Court on Wednesday 23 October, but says that whatever the outcome, he will continue to draw attention to companies “complicit in the genocide and illegal occupation of Palestinian land”:

I’ve been part of the solidarity movement for well over 15 years and I’m not going to stop now, he added. ‘I will keep protesting and standing in the way of genocide because that is the only decent response to this carnage.

What is going on in Gaza right now is horrific, criminal and, seemingly never-ending – we all need to do everything we can to stop Israel from claiming more lives. We can start by boycotting all Israeli goods and products, especially Sabra houmous.

• To donate to Chris’ legal fighting fund visit https://gofund.me/ec91d1c5
• Details for court support event can be seen here.

Featured image supplied