An Israeli government minister has called on the prime minister and the foreign minister to file a strong protest against Jordan after a restaurant in the Dead Sea coastal city of Karak changed its name to "October 7." Meanwhile, in a conversation with Ynet, the owner of the restaurant said that the name is not related to the date of the Hamas massacre in southern Israel, and announced that the name of the establishment has changed again.
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The shawarma restaurant in Jordan has dropped the number 7 in its name, the owner said in a phone call. " We are the 'Oktober' restaurant," he proclaimed.
The owner claimed in a phone call with Ynet that the name of the restaurant was not chosen to celebrate the greatest massacre in Israel's history, in which more than 1,100 people were murdered. "We are not politicians and this is not October 7 in Gaza," he asserted.
The name, he said, was chosen because "my daughter graduated from medical school on October 7 in Algeria. Now we changed it because it was understood politically. The new name is only October. Without 7. We have nothing to do with politics."
But a look at the restaurant's Facebook page raises questions about this reasoning. Last month, a post was uploaded to the eatery's Facebook page, in which the managers asked for suggestions for a new name. One of the proposed names is October 7, and later the restaurant announced that this was the chosen name.
In footage that went viral of the eatery with the shocking name, people are seen flocking to its doors. The name of the restaurant, "October 7," can also be clearly seen on the employees uniforms.
Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) was the first to address the issue on Thursday. He sent a letter to Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "It is impossible for any country, in particular a country with which we maintain diplomatic relations, to allow the glorification of a massacre of people -women and children - while committing serious crimes against humanity."
He demanded that Katz formally submit a strong protest on behalf of the government to the Jordanian government. "If the State of Israel passes over this serious incident in silence, this will lead to the glorification of the massacre in other countries and in the future to the denial of the massacre. It is our duty to stamp this out."
Relations between Israel and Jordan have deteriorated since the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel's ambassador in Amman, Rogel Rahman, was recalled to Jerusalem due to the fear for the embassy's employees in the kingdom. At the same time, the Jordanian ambassador Rasan Al-Majali was recalled by his government.
Soon after Israel's ground offensive began, Jordanian Queen Rania accused the world of a double standard giving Israel a pass in its war in Gaza. In an interview to CNN in October, she cast doubt whether the atrocities were ever committed by Hamas terrorists in the attack on Gaza border communities in Israel.