Mamdani dines at Palestinian restaurant accused of anti-Israel messaging on Oct. 7 anniversary
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent the October 7 anniversary dining at a Palestinian restaurant in Manhattan, a decision that quickly drew scrutiny because of the establishment’s past controversy over its Israel-related messaging.
The dinner came on an especially charged night for the city, with Mamdani facing angry demonstrators from the Palestinian side as well.
His movements throughout the evening put him at the center of criticism from opposing groups.
How Zohran Mamdani is commemorating October 7: eating at Hinds Hall, a Palestinian restaurant in NYC. https://t.co/rtLJReTtB0
— Olivia Reingold (@Olivia_Reingold) October 8, 2026
Mamdani dines at controversial restaurant
Mamdani had dinner Wednesday at Ayat Hinds Hall on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a Palestinian restaurant whose name and past messaging have attracted considerable attention amid the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The restaurant is part of a chain whose Brooklyn location previously faced criticism over a menu section called “From the River to the Sea.”
The phrase has been a major source of dispute.
The Anti-Defamation League has characterized the slogan as antisemitic, while supporters of the Palestinian cause have used it as a call for Palestinian freedom and rights.
The restaurant’s owners have pushed back against interpretations that they were advocating the elimination of Israel.
Owner Abdul Elenani previously said the phrase had been on the menu before the October 7 attacks.
He also said he had received repeated threats after the controversy surrounding the restaurant.
Elenani has said he supports a two-state solution and has condemned violence against civilians on both sides.
The restaurant itself was named after Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian who died in Gaza in January 2024.
Its name also references the Columbia University demonstrations, when protesters renamed Hamilton Hall as 'Hind’s Hall'.
Mamdani's decision to eat there on the October 7 anniversary immediately placed the dinner under greater political scrutiny.
NOW: "You opportunist piece of shit!" Pro-Palestine protesters shout and rush after Mamdani as he leaves the "Israelis for Peace" vigil in Union Square NYC, Mayor Mamdani has departed and protesters have pushed over the barricades. Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2 | Licensing @FreedomNTV Desk@freedomnews.tv
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) October 8, 2026
Pro-Palestinian protesters target Mamdani
On the same day, Mamdani also encountered protesters at a candlelight vigil in Union Square who objected to his positions on Israel.
Demonstrators confronted the mayor as he made his way toward his vehicle, with one masked protester accusing him of being a “traitor.”
Another called Mamdani a “boot licker” and demanded that he take a stronger stand on behalf of Palestinians.
Mamdani's security personnel intervened to prevent protesters from getting too close as tensions rose outside the restaurant.
This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers. It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7. On that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss. The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians—including more than 21,000 children. Even since the so-called ceasefire, more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed. That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing. Many New Yorkers are reckoning with this unbearable grief, and we mourn alongside them – all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes. Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment. To honor the dead, we must fight for a world in which every person can live with freedom, safety, and dignity.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) October 7, 2026
Mamdani remained largely expressionless during the confrontation and continued standing at the memorial alongside former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.
Earlier that day, Mamdani’s October 7 post also drew backlash after he described the anniversary as a day to mourn both Israeli victims and Palestinians, prompting criticism from those who said his statement blurred the distinction between the attacks and the war that followed.
