{"id":169551,"date":"2026-03-20T19:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/169551\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T19:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:51:12","slug":"2-years-after-columbia-protests-hinds-hall-opens-as-palestinian-restaurant-near-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/169551\/","title":{"rendered":"2 years after Columbia protests, ‘Hinds Hall’ opens as Palestinian restaurant near campus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years ago, dozens of Columbia University students and demonstrators protesting Israel\u2019s war in Gaza entered the school\u2019s Hamilton Hall, barricaded its doors and chained them shut. They draped a banner out a front window that read \u201cHind\u2019s Hall<\/a>,\u201d in reference to Hind Rajab<\/a>, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in 2024.<\/p>\n

The NYPD forcibly cleared the building and arrested<\/a> many of those inside at the request of Columbia\u2019s president at the time. But now a new Hind\u2019s Hall is opening just 10 blocks south of campus, in the form of a Palestinian restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI think we owe them a tribute of putting a name they worked so hard to establish within campus about the injustices in Gaza,\u201d said Abdul Elenani, who\u2019s opening Ayat Hinds Hall as part of his Ayat<\/a> Palestinian restaurant chain.<\/p>\n

Ayat Hinds Hall is taking over what was Mama\u2019s Pizza on Amsterdam Avenue near 106th Street. Elenani fitted the restaurant with mahogany doors and painted the facade the color of desert sand. The words \u201cHinds Hall\u201d are emblazoned across the sides in huge white block letters.<\/p>\n

The restaurant\u2019s callback to the high-profile Columbia protest site is already drawing scrutiny far beyond the neighborhood, from social media<\/a> to the Israeli press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Elenani said he wants the new restaurant to stand out. \u201c\u200aI feel like we’re educating a lot of people when they start Googling who Hind was and what happened to her,\u201d Elenani said.<\/p>\n

Hind was fleeing Gaza City in January 2024 when her family\u2019s black Kia came under fire, according to a United Nations report<\/a>. Audio recordings<\/a> show the child called for emergency services before the line dropped as the sound of gunfire rang out in the background.<\/p>\n

Hind\u2019s body was found in the vehicle a month later. The Israel Defense Forces initially denied<\/a> involvement. But a United Nations Human Rights Council investigation<\/a> determined Israel\u2019s army was responsible for killing Hind and her family, as well as shelling the ambulance sent to help them and killing the two paramedics inside.<\/p>\n

Hind\u2019s death sparked international condemnation and protests, including at Columbia. A docudrama about her death, \u201cThe Voice of Hind Rajab<\/a>,\u201d received a record-breaking 23-minute standing ovation at the 2025 Venice Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize.<\/p>\n

Many Jewish New Yorkers, supporters of Israel, and politicians across the political spectrum criticized<\/a> the Columbia protests as antisemitic. Columbia’s then-President Minouche Shafik resigned following widespread condemnation for her handling of the recurring protests.<\/p>\n

A Columbia representative did not respond to a request for comment about the restaurant.<\/p>\n

Elenani\u2019s social media post<\/a> last week announcing the opening of Ayat Hinds Hall provoked strong backlash online, with some calling the name inappropriate and vowing never to eat there. But Elenani said he\u2019s unfazed.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI would tell those neighbors that if a 5-year-old girl that was shot over 300 times offends you, I have nothing to tell you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Elenani said he\u2019s waiting on final permits and aims to open the restaurant within the week. Work at the restaurant appeared nearly finished on a recent visit, with new chairs stacked against the walls and glasses hanging over the service bar.<\/p>\n

Elenani said he hopes those concerned about the name come to eat at the new restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood has always been a bridge between cultures,\u201d he said. When you eat someone\u2019s food, \u201cyou understand what they’re about, you understand what they do, you understand their history, and I feel like that alone just solves half the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n