A Dublin restaurant has said it received an onslaught of negative reviews shortly after unveiling a mural in honour of the children of Palestine.
Rathmines restaurant Shaku Maku has been ‘proudly Palestinian’ since it opened in 2022.
Since Israel launched its attack on Gaza in the wake of the Hamas assault on October 7th, the restaurant’s owner Adnan Shabab has been raising funds for people trapped in the area.
On Lunchtime Live this afternoon, he said he asked Irish artist Emmalene Blake to paint a mural of a Palestinian child on the side of the restaurant after seeing her previous work.
Ms Blake painted the mural for free, and it was unveiled last Saturday.
“She did fantastic work,” Mr Shabab said. “But when she finished the mural, we received an influx of bad reviews.
“Within one hour [of posting the mural online], we started getting reviews.”
The reviews were all brief, single sentences, including “very bad” and “dirty food and place”.
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Mr Shabab said it was “obvious” the reviews were not from customers.
"It was orchestrated," he said.
“We looked into the reviews; we knew where they came from... we were very saddened to see reviews not from our customers.
“We have dealt with criticism in a constructive manner, but when it comes from those who have never been here and want to hurt a small business... it’s devastating.”
He said it was particularly devastating for him to be criticised for his support of Palestine while many of his family members remain stuck in Gaza.
“It’s an unimaginable situation at the moment,” he said.
“My sister is staying in a school right now – they haven’t even had enough food and water; they haven’t showered in a month.
“The last five days, I’ve lost total contact... she told me they had run out of fuel.”
After receiving the negative reviews, Mr Shabab took to social media to explain his frustration and asked any previous customers who hadn’t left a review to write one now.
He said the support Shaku Maku received from customers and locals “exceeded our expectations beyond all imagination”.
“It has given us the confidence that we are not alone,” he said.
“The good won over evil.
“We're very overwhelmed with our customer support behind us.”
The Gaza Health Ministry has reported 11,000 deaths since October 7th, including roughly 4,000 children.
