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The Israeli restaurant Feinberg sparked outrage over the weekend with a poster featuring illustrations of watermelons as well as a lion wearing an Israeli flag. The restaurant, owned by Yorai Feinberg, participated in an "Israel Day" event on Friday, where it set up a booth offering, among other things, a watermelon and vodka drink. The "Israeli-style watermelon" was advertised as "chopped, crushed and cut into pieces over ice with a shot of vodka," accompanied by a drawing of a lion holding the drink and the Israeli flag, surrounded by whole and cut watermelons.
3 View gallery The poster of the restaurant Even before a single watermelon was cut, the marketing effort drew intense anger from pro-Palestinian activists. Since October 7, the watermelon has been adopted as a symbol of the Palestinian cause, appearing widely at pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Activists accused Feinberg of making violent references to Israeli military actions in Gaza.
"Chopped, crushed and cut. This is Feinberg’s violent, anti-Palestinian fantasy," one activist wrote on the X social media 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." 3 View gallery Feinberg poster advertising the watermelon drink ( Photo: From the X platform ) "It was just a joke," Feinberg said Sunday. "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.
" Photos of the booth, the poster, and the slogan quickly spread across Berlin’s social media channels, leading to a wave of insults and threats against Feinberg. Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play : https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store : https://bit.
ly/3ZL7iNv "Since Saturday, we've been receiving dozens of threatening phone calls and thousands of hateful messages," said Feinberg, who has previously faced antisemitic incidents for being Jewish and opening an Israeli business in Berlin. "Today, people even came to the restaurant and threatened the staff." The extreme reactions highlight broader tensions surrounding Israel in the city.
Many Berlin restaurants serve watermelon cocktails or dishes without incident, but one Israeli restaurant’s poster triggered a surge of hatred — and potential violence. Several venues in the city have previously faced backlash simply for expressing support for Israel. 3 View gallery Yorai Feinberg "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.
"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. "This is just not normal.
People are not normal," he added. "I’m the son of a Holocaust survivor — and now people are calling me a Nazi. It's pure poison.
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