A Palestinian restaurant owner in New York is facing backlash after including the phrase “From the River to the Sea” in its menu.
Abdul Elenani and his wife Ayat Masoud opened a new location of their restaurant chain, Ayat, in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn,in December, according to the New York Post (NYP). Elenani explained that the slogan was not new and that it was a slogan “calling for peace and equality” within the Palestinian community.
“That slogan has been on my menu for the past year, way before Oct. 7, and that slogan within our communities has always been defined as a calling for peace and equality for Palestinian people in their country, Elenani explained to the outlet.
“And after Oct. 7, it was interpreted to be a way to kill, exile, murder, do whatever to all the Jewish people, which is totally nowhere near our definition,” Elenani added. “It’s been driving me crazy.”
In the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which left 1,200 people dead and more than 200 people taken as hostages, the slogan, “from the river to the sea,” has been seen as an anti-semitic phrase used by pro-Palestinian protesters worldwide calling for a ceasefire and coming out against Israel.
Elenani shared with the outlet that he has received a flood of vile messages on his Instagram page and added that his wife feared leaving the house with their newborn.
“We’re getting bomb threats, threats to bomb our locations,” Elenani explained. “It’s ridiculous. Our Instagram is one page for all the locations, we don’t have individual pages.”
“Somebody emailed our page saying ‘Us Jews will annihilate you. Palestine does not exist. From the river to the sea will be 100 percent Israel. Palestinians need to be killed,” Elenani told the outlet, adding that he does not support the violence in the Middle East and supports a “peaceful two-state solution.”
Elenani’s restaurant has locations in Bay Ridge, Industry City, Staten Island, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to the Ayat website.
One person, Anthony Babangida, 24, suggested to the NYP that the owners of the restaurant be careful with what phrases they use right now, adding, “maybe certain phrases are best left off the menu.”
“People just need to calm the f**k down,” another person, Alton Baxter, 58, told the outlet. “It’s a free country, we’re all entitled to use whatever slogans we feel fit, provided they’re not full-on hate – and even those you can technically use.”
IJR reached out to Elenani for a statement but did not receive a response back by the time of publication.