The name of a restaurant has sparked outrage for its connection to the harrowing terror attack launched last year by Hamas on Israel.
A shawarma joint located south of the city of Kerak in western Jordan was given the name “October 7” – the now-notorious date on which armed terrorists went on a rampage in southern Israel to kill more than 1200 people and take around 240 hostages.
A clip circulating on social media showed the black sign of the Jordanian restaurant with the English word “October” written in orange and “7” in white.
Several people could be seen ordering food at the joint, where staff members wore burgundy shirts with the name of the restaurant on the back.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the Opposition in Israel, was among those who condemned the name of the restaurant.
Taking to X, the politician wrote: “The disgraceful glorification of October 7th has to stop. The incitement and hatred against Israel breeds the terrorism and extremism which led to the brutal massacre of October 7th. We expect the Jordanian government to condemn this publicly and unequivocally.”
The owner of the restaurant claimed his decision to name the restaurant “October 7” had nothing to do with the terror attack.
Speaking with Israeli news site Ynet, the unnamed owner claimed: “My daughter graduated from med school in Algeria on October 7.”
The restaurant, he added, has already been renamed as people were linking the date to the terror attack, but his joint has “no connection to politics”. He said: “We changed it because it was understood as political. The new name is just October, without 7.”
In its report, the news outlet claimed that a conversation on the joint’s Facebook page may contradict the owner’s words.
Ynet reported the restaurant had previously existed under a different name, and it recently took to the social media platform to ask its followers to suggest a new one.
The news outlet claimed the suggestion “October 7” came from a Facebook user, and was taken on board by the restaurant.
While Jordan signed a historic peace treaty with Israel in 1994, relations between the two states have grown increasingly weary following the Hamas terror attack and Tel Aviv’s military response to it.
Two weeks into the bombardments on Gaza, Israel issued a warning to its citizens against travelling to Jordan and other Arab nations, while in November Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel to condemn the war on Gaza.
