A new restaurant in Jordan named “October 7” apparently after Hamas’ brutal massacre of Israelis last year is igniting considerable outrage, with many comparing the “disgusting” move to opening a diner called “September 11,” while others insisted peace will only be achievable when “the Arabs stop worshipping the murder of Jews.”
In a clip posted by former Jordanian MP Dima Tahboub, the new shawarma eatery can be seen bustling with happy patrons — children and adults alike — as staff behind the counter wear “October 7” attire.
The current conflict in Gaza began on October 7 after the Hamas terrorist group perpetrated the deadliest attack against Jewish people since the Nazi Holocaust. The massacre saw the torture, rape, execution, immolation, and abduction of hundreds of Israeli civilians, as well as widespread Palestinian support for it.
The wholesale slaughter, which drew parallels to scenes from the Holocaust, resulted in roughly 1,200 dead inside the Jewish state, more than 5,300 wounded, and at least 241 hostages of all ages taken — of which nearly 140 remain in Gaza.
The vast majority of the victims are civilians and include dozens of American citizens.
Tahboub, whose gleeful post depicted the opening, is a member of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood who once praised a Jordanian soldier for murdering 7 Israeli schoolgirls, calling the unarmed pupils “enemies.”
In response to the venue’s debut, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid lashed out at the “disgraceful glorification” of the October 7 atrocities.
“The incitement and hatred against Israel breeds the terrorism and extremism which led to the brutal massacre of October 7th,” he wrote, adding that, “We expect the Jordanian government to condemn this publicly and unequivocaly.”
“There is a sickness and deeply embedded antisemitic culture in this region to honour rape and the murder of children to this extent,” wrote popular conservative social media personality Chris Rose.
“This is how peace with Jordan which majority 90% of it are Arabs Palestinians looks like,” wrote former Knesset candidate Shadi khalloul, a Maronite Christian from the Galilee region.
“A restaurant named after Oct 7th atrocities that killed brutality Israeli civilians, raped women, beheading innocent people, burning people alive with 136 hostages still kidnapped. Peace?” he added.
“DISGUSTING! A new restaurant just opened in Amman, Jordan, named ‘October 7’ – to celebrate the Hamas massacre of Jews,” wrote prominent speaker, influencer and human rights activist Hananya Naftali.
“Sick minds in Jordan,” he added.
“First Jordan refuses to let Palestinian refugees from Gaza into their country. Then Jordan demands a unilateral ceasefire from Israel after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. And now, they celebrate the horrors of October 7th,” wrote Hen Mazzig, senior fellow at The Tel Aviv Institute.
“This is not support for Palestinians,” he added. “This is pure, unadulterated hatred for Jews.”
“A reminder that Jordan is a state Israel actually has a peace agreement with,” wrote British researcher David Collier. “There will be no peace in the region until the Arabs stop worshipping the murder of Jews.”
“The Southern Kingdom of Jordan, a country heavily supported by the West, has a new restaurant named after the October 7 attacks,” wrote columnist Nadav Eyal. “This is not an isolated incident or merely anecdotal. The Jordanians have shown considerable support for the massacres carried out by Hamas.”
“Jordan? A new restaurant named ‘October 7’ because these are the monsters we are dealing with, damned cannibals, wretched terrorists who sit down to eat with their families in a restaurant whose menu represents: decapitated children’s heads, rape of women, abuse, severed limbs, butchered elderly women, burnt families, Abducted babies,” wrote journalist Noa Magid.
“Imagine a restaurant called ‘September 11’, celebrating 9/11 terror attacks,” wrote researcher Dr. Eli David. “Imagine no more, here’s the brand new ‘October 7’ restaurant in Amman, the capital of Jordan , celebrating the massacre of 1,200 Israelis.”
Antisemitic narratives and celebration of violence against Jews, have long appeared in Palestinian culture as part of a long-standing opposition to the Jewish state. Jordan’s cultural landscape is profoundly influenced by its Palestinian population, who make up a majority in the country.
Last month, a Gaza City clothing shop named “Hitler 2” — which grew its fame by showcasing masked mannequins holding knives, inspired by Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israeli civilians when it first opened — was reportedly destroyed during the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The shop, which debuted in 2015, can be seen in photos featuring display figures dressed in shirts with “Stab!” written across the chests.
In a clip produced following the store’s launch, young Palestinians celebrated the shop, demonstrating that the store’s controversial name functioned as a unique draw, attracting customers and increasing patronage.
Some of the young customers who applauded the shop’s tribute to knife-wielding Palestinian terrorists also expressed an eagerness to carry out attacks against Jews themselves.
The glorification of violence against Jews in Palestinian day-to-day life was also seen in an Associated Press report on rocket-shaped vials of perfume being sold in Gaza City a day before the October 7 attacks on Israel.
In November, Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders caused an uproar after declaring that the country of Jordan should be considered the true national homeland for the Palestinian people.
The right-wing firebrand, who won the recent election in the Netherlands and has vowed to become the next Dutch prime minister, has long argued that the conflict between Palestinians and Israel could be resolved through the recognition of Jordan as a Palestinian state.
In 2016, he slammed then President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, demanding they “stop bashing Israel about settlements,” as he proclaimed that “Judea and Samaria belong to Israel,” and that “Jordan = Palestine.”
The argument that “Jordan is Palestine” is a recurring topic in the discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is primarily based on historical, geographical, and political perspectives.
Historically, the British Mandate for Palestine, established after World War I, originally included the territory of both modern-day Israel and Jordan. The mandate incorporated the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which expressed Britain’s support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
In 1922, the British divided the mandate into two administrative areas: west of the Jordan River, which became the Jewish national home (later, Israel); and east of the Jordan River, which eventually became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Those on the east bank, just as the Jews and Arabs on the west bank, were considered Palestinians, subject to British control and carriers of Palestinian passports.
In 1946, Britain established the Kingdom of Transjordan, with Abdullah as king, effectively turning a significant part of the Palestine Mandate into an Arab nation and leaving a much smaller portion, including the West Bank and Gaza, for Jewish statehood. The move marked a significant shift from the original mandate’s intent to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
In 1948, Jordan (then Transjordan) participated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Following the war, King Abdullah annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, renaming the country the Kingdom of Jordan — not “Palestine.”
More than a decade later, in 1964, the Arab League held a summit in Jordan and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan produced a stamp including Jordan and Israel, both parts of territory it regarded as part of the Kingdom of Jordan.
After Israel reunified Jerusalem and captured the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War, King Hussein of Jordan insisted that “Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan.”
Demographically, Jordan has a significant Palestinian population, with a majority of Jordanians ethnically Palestinian. Many Palestinians either fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Six-Day War in 1967, and they, along with their descendants, have since lived in Jordan. In addition, most are fully naturalized, making Jordan the only Arab country to fully integrate the Palestinian refugees of 1948.
Proponents have argued that since Jordan is predominantly Palestinian, there is no need for an additional Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, and that integrating Palestinians into Jordan could lead to a more stable regional situation, as Jordan has successfully integrated Palestinian refugees.
Yitzhak Shamir, who served twice as Israel’s prime minister, blamed the lack of recognition of Jordan as a Palestinian state to “an accident of history,” as he warned that an additional Palestinian state in the West Bank would serve as a recipe for chaos.
“Reduced to its true proportions,” he continued, “the problem is clearly not the lack of a homeland for the Palestinian Arabs. That homeland is Trans-Jordan or Eastern Palestine,” describing a “second Palestinian state to the west of the river” as a “prescription for anarchy.”
However, King Abdullah II, the Jordanian monarch, has until now emphatically rejected such proposals, claiming “Jordan is Jordan.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.