NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani dined Wednesday at Ayat Hinds Hall, a Palestinian restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, as New York marked the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, according to the New York Post.

NYC @NYCMayor making quite a statement. Having dinner at the only Palestinian restaurant on the Upper West Side this October 7th. https://t.co/6w0FUaq47Y

— kendis (@kendisgibson) October 8, 2026

Mamdani’s dinner came amid an angry backlash over a statement he posted on Oct. 7 that drew sharp criticism from Jewish leaders and pro-Israel activists.

The restaurant is part of the Ayat chain, whose Brooklyn location was previously criticized over a menu section titled “From the River to the Sea,” a slogan that the Anti-Defamation League has described as an antisemitic call for Israel’s destruction, the Post reported.

The restaurant’s owners have rejected that characterization, saying the slogan was not intended to call for the eradication of Israel.

Ayat Hinds Hall is named after Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza in January 2024. The name also references Columbia University protesters who renamed Hamilton Hall “Hind’s Hall” during their 2024 campus takeover.

It was unclear who accompanied Mamdani during the dinner, according to the Post.

His appearance at the restaurant came after he was confronted by protesters at an Oct. 7 vigil honoring Jewish victims of the Hamas attacks. Protesters shouted accusations of “genocide” and accused the mayor of abandoning the Palestinian cause.

As Mamdani left the restaurant, protesters continued confronting him, with one shouting an expletive and calling him a “traitor.” His security detail held protesters back as the mayor departed.