A popular Israeli restaurant in Lisbon has been forced to close because of the rise in antisemitism, the establishment announced on Tuesday.
Tantura was opened ten years ago by chef couple Elad Budenshtiin and Itamar Eliyahu. Tantura’s menu drew inspiration from various Jewish cuisines to represent the Israeli melting pot.
However, since October 7, 2023, the restaurant has been the target of antisemitic acts. In a statement on Facebook, Tantura said that over the past three years, "with the war and the alarming rise of antisemitism in the world," it has been constantly targeted with graffiti on the restaurant walls, online defamation, hostile campaigns, and boycotts.
"The place that was meant to be a space of connection and joy turned into an arena of daily struggle," the restaurant said, adding that the decision to close is among the hardest they've ever had to make. The restaurant will close on Saturday, the 10th.
In June 2024, the walls and windows were graffitied with "Tantura is a massacre," "Free Palestine" by the group the Collective for the Liberation of Palestine (CLP). The group claimed that a massacre took place in the town of Tantura on May 22, 1948.
Tantura Amsterdam closing Saturday amid abuse, graffiti
"The campaign began with an attempt to destroy the name of our restaurant - a name inspired by a beautiful beach in Israel, where we got married, a place filled with love and meaning," said Budenshtiin and Eliyahu. "But lies spread quickly. What started as false stories and graffiti meant to provoke us turned into a campaign of hate and distortion."
"We are not politicians. We are living in a country we love, bringing people and cultures together through food. (…) We opened a restaurant, we called it Tantura - the name of one of the most beautiful beaches in Israel - and the rest is history," the owners added.
The restaurant will be closing on Saturday, 10.