New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel by dining at a Palestinian restaurant chain previously condemned over a menu critics called “openly genocidal” against Jews, as reported by The New York Post.

Mamdani ate dinner at Ayat Hinds Hall on the Upper West Side. The restaurant belongs to a chain whose sister location in Brooklyn drew outrage after featuring a menu section titled “From the River to the Sea” following the 2023 attacks.

That phrase has been deemed an antisemitic call for the destruction of the Jewish state by the Anti-Defamation League. It has also become a favored chant among activists opposed to Israel.

Ayat Hinds Hall is named after Hind Rajab, a Palestinian child, age five, who was killed by IDF forces in Gaza in January 2024. The name also honors protesters at Columbia University who occupied Hamilton Hall and renamed the building “Hind’s Hall.”

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The Middle Eastern restaurant chain made headlines in December 2023 when critics condemned the menu language as “openly genocidal.” Owners Abdul Elenani and Ayat Masoud insisted that they were not calling for Israel to be eradicated.

Elenani told the Post at the time that the slogan had appeared on the menu for months before the Oct. 7 attacks. He also said that he had been receiving death threats every day since the attacks.

The owner said he supported a solution involving two states, Israel and Palestine. He also condemned violence on both sides of the conflict.

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It was not clear who joined Mamdani for his dinner at the Upper West Side restaurant. The meal followed an evening in which the mayor faced relentless heckling and boos from protesters opposed to Israel who accused him of abandoning the Palestinian cause.

The protesters confronted Mamdani at a vigil honoring Jewish victims murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, as well as Palestinians killed in the war that followed. The mayor remained stone-faced as the group shouted accusations in unison.

“Zohran, you can’t hide; we charge you with genocide,” the protesters yelled at Mamdani during the vigil. Their anger did not end when the event was over or when the mayor went inside the restaurant.

As soon as Mamdani stepped outside Ayat Hinds Hall on Wednesday night, activists waiting for him resumed their insults. One masked protester rushed toward the mayor’s car while shouting at him.

“Stop being a f—king traitor,” the masked activist yelled. The confrontation added another ugly scene to an evening already filled with jeers directed at the mayor.

Another activist called Mamdani a “boot licker” and demanded that he “stand up for people [facing] genocide.” The mayor’s security team was forced to restrain the furious protesters outside the restaurant.

The dinner placed Mamdani inside an establishment already steeped in controversy involving Israel, Palestinian activism and the Oct. 7 attacks.

Its menu language had faced criticism, its name invoked a Palestinian child killed in Gaza, and it honored the Columbia protesters who occupied Hamilton Hall.

The timing only sharpened the spectacle. On the third anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attacks, Mamdani moved from a vigil honoring Jewish and Palestinian victims to a restaurant chain condemned over a slogan associated with the destruction of Israel.

At the same time, the mayor could not escape fury from activists who believed he had betrayed their cause. Their chants, insults, and attempt to approach his vehicle turned the restaurant exit into another confrontation requiring intervention from his security detail.

The episode left Mamdani squeezed between a restaurant controversy and protesters openly denouncing him. His Oct. 7 anniversary evening ended not with calm reflection, but with masked activists, accusations of genocide, and security officers holding back an angry crowd.

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