An Israeli restaurant, Feinberg, caused a wave of backlash this weekend after unveiling a poster that featured images of watermelons along with a lion draped in an Israeli flag. The restaurant, owned by Yorai Feinberg, had taken part in an “Israel Day” event on Friday, where it operated a booth offering items including a watermelon and vodka beverage.
Their drink, described as “chopped, crushed and cut into pieces over ice with a shot of vodka,” was marketed as an “Israeli-style watermelon” and accompanied by artwork of a lion clutching the drink alongside an Israeli flag, surrounded by images of whole and sliced watermelons.
Even before the event began, outrage erupted among pro-Palestinian activists over the marketing imagery.
Since October 7, the watermelon has been embraced as a powerful symbol of Palestinian identity and resistance, prominently featured at pro-Palestinian protests. Activists accused Feinberg of using violent imagery that mirrored Israeli military actions against Gaza.
“Chopped, crushed and cut. This is Feinberg’s violent, anti-Palestinian fantasy,” one activist posted on the X platform. “Exactly what Israel has been doing to Palestinian children for the past year and a half. Anyone promoting or buying from such a booth has lost their humanity.”
Responding to the controversy on Sunday, Feinberg said, “It was just a joke. Since the watermelon has become a Palestinian symbol, we thought to turn it into a humorous take, a sort of bridge through drinking alcohol. A sarcastic joke that we’re making juice out of anti-Israel sentiment and the new forms of antisemitism. Of course, we never intended to reference the fate of Gaza’s residents or to harm anyone. Most people who came by smiled, ordered drinks, and took photos.”
Images of the booth, along with the poster and the slogan, quickly went viral across Berlin’s social media networks, leading to a flood of insults and threats directed at Feinberg.
“Since Saturday, we’ve been receiving dozens of threatening phone calls and thousands of hateful messages,” said Feinberg, who has previously been targeted with antisemitic harassment for running a Jewish-owned Israeli restaurant in Berlin. “Today, people even came to the restaurant and threatened the staff.”
The intense backlash has underscored the deep political sensitivities surrounding anything related to Israel in Berlin. Although many other restaurants in the city serve watermelon-based food and drinks without controversy, Feinberg’s Israeli-themed poster ignited a particularly vicious response — part of a broader pattern in which businesses showing support for Israel have come under fire.
“It’s a bit scary,” Feinberg admitted. “A few months ago, we posted a photo of one of our desserts online with a small Israeli flag toothpick, and within hours we received thousands of toxic comments describing us as Jewish monsters eating Palestinians. It’s terrifying how much hatred there is, and how far people are willing to go — all over nothing. A toothpick with a flag.”
Feinberg said he has now requested renewed security measures. “So yes, there’s fear. For a long time we didn’t have police protection, but now I’ve informed the authorities that I believe they should resume guarding the place,” he said.
Reflecting on the experience, Feinberg added, “This is just not normal. People are not normal. I’m the son of a Holocaust survivor — and now people are calling me a Nazi. It’s pure poison.”
{Matzav.com}