Israeli-owned Lisbon restaurant says it will close over anti-Israel, antisemitic campaigns
The restaurant, opened by an Israeli couple and rated among Lisbon's top 10, will close after nearly a decade. 'It started with online messages, later it was a protest outside of the restaurant, graffiti on the walls,' the owners said
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The restaurant, opened by an Israeli couple and rated among Lisbon's top 10, will close after nearly a decade. 'It started with online messages, later it was a protest outside of the restaurant, graffiti on the walls,' the owners said
Itamar Eliyahuo, left, and Elad Bodenstein at their restaurant in Lisbon, Tantura. Credit: Nicole Sánchez
Itamar Eliyahuo, left, and Elad Bodenstein at their restaurant in Lisbon, Tantura. Credit: Nicole Sánchez
January 08, 2026
An Israeli-owned restaurant in Lisbon announced Tuesday that it would close its doors after nearly a decade, citing harassment and vandalism in the wake of Israel's war in Gaza.
In a post on Facebook, the owners of Tantura explained that they were forced to deal with "the war and the alarming rise in antisemitism in the world" over the past two years. "[We had] graffiti smeared on the restaurant walls, blackening its good name online, hostile campaigns and a full-on boycott," the post reads.
The restaurant was founded by Elad Bodenstein and Itamar Eliyahuo in 2017, serving hummus, sambusak and shakshuka in Lisbon's main entertainment district. The place has won a raft of awards and has been ranked one of the city's 10 best restaurants.
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The name Tantura was inspired by the beach where the owners met and later married. Along the beach, just south of Haifa in Israel's north, once stood the Palestinian village of Tantura, also the site of a massacre of Palestinians during the 1948 War of Independence. Bodenstein and Eliyahuo say they were not aware of this historical association when they chose the name.
