New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani dined at a Palestinian restaurant chain that critics previously condemned as “openly genocidal” toward Jews on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.
Mamdani ate at Ayat Hinds Hall on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, one location in a restaurant group whose Brooklyn counterpart drew criticism after featuring a menu section titled “From the River to the Sea” following the 2023 attacks.
The restaurant’s name honors Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by IDF forces in Gaza in January 2024. It also references anti-Israel demonstrators at Columbia University, who renamed Hamilton Hall “Hind’s Hall” after occupying the building.
The Middle Eastern restaurant made national headlines in December 2023 when critics accused its menu of being “openly genocidal.” Owners Abdul Elenani and Ayat Masoud rejected that characterization, saying they were not advocating the elimination of Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League describes “From the river to the sea” as an antisemitic slogan calling for the destruction of the Jewish state. The phrase is also frequently used at anti-Israel demonstrations.
Elenani told The Post at the time that the slogan had appeared on the menu for months before the Oct. 7 attacks. He said he had received death threats every day since then.
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Elenani also said he supported a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and condemned violence committed by both sides.
It was not immediately clear who accompanied Mamdani to dinner. The meal came after the mayor faced a barrage of boos and heckling from anti-Israel protesters who accused him of abandoning the Palestinian cause.
“Zohran, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” protesters chanted in unison at the stone-faced mayor during a vigil honoring Jewish victims killed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, as well as Palestinians killed during the war that followed.
The confrontation continued after Mamdani left the restaurant Wednesday night.
A masked activist waiting outside rushed toward the mayor’s car and shouted, “Stop being a f—king traitor.”
Another demonstrator called Mamdani a “boot licker” and urged him to “stand up for people [facing] genocide.”
Mamdani’s security detail stepped in to keep the angry protesters away from him.