Columbia University apologizes for menu featuring ‘October 7th sauce’

On third anniversary of the Hamas invasion of Israel, Columbia University dining hall features item named “October 7 blush sauce,” drawing criticism.

By World Israel News Staff

Columbia University has apologized after a campus dining hall displayed a pasta sauce labeled “October 7th Blush Sauce” on the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel, prompting widespread outrage and accusations of insensitivity toward the victims of the terrorist attacks.

The controversial signage appeared Wednesday at the pasta station in the university’s John Jay Dining Hall, where the sauce was listed alongside marinara, turkey bolognese and garlic oil.

A photograph of the menu, shared on social media by Israeli journalist Simone Saidmehr, quickly went viral, with critics questioning whether the reference to October 7 was deliberate.

“On the menu at Columbia University’s dining hall today: October 7th Blush Sauce,” Saidmehr wrote, accompanying her post with the photograph.

The date coincided with the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of southern Israel, during which approximately 1,200 people were murdered and 251 were taken hostage.

University officials denied any connection between the menu item and the massacre, attributing the wording to an administrative error.

“This was an unfortunate mistake and was not intended as a reference to the attacks of October 7,” Vicki Dunn, assistant vice president of Columbia Dining, said in a statement.

According to Dunn, the sauce, a pink-colored mixture of tomatoes and cream, had been scheduled for Wednesday’s lunch service. The date was inadvertently included in the name when information was transferred into the dining hall’s menu template.

Dunn said the university removed the signs “as soon as the mistake was identified.”

The explanation did not convince some social media users, who questioned how the date could have appeared alongside the name of the sauce without anyone noticing.

“You have to purposely place that text all the way down there,” one user wrote. “This isn’t like the date was on the top line and pushed down a line on accident.”

Another questioned whether the dining hall routinely included dates in the names of its sauces, asking if an “Oct. 6 Ranch Sauce” had appeared on the previous day’s menu.

The incident occurred against the backdrop of continuing tensions at Columbia over Israel and the war in Gaza.

On Wednesday, dozens of anti-Israel demonstrators gathered outside the university’s gates for a protest organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, a group suspended by Columbia in 2023.

Participants chanted slogans including “Globalize the intifada” and “No peace on stolen land,” while speakers accused the university of suppressing pro-Palestinian activism.

“Long live the student intifada,” one speaker declared. “Glory to our martyrs, glory to the people of Palestine and glory to the resistance.”

Meanwhile, Jewish students commemorated the victims of the October 7 massacre with a display of chairs bearing photographs of those killed in the attacks.

Columbia has faced sustained controversy over antisemitism and anti-Israel activism since the outbreak of the Gaza war, with campus demonstrations, disciplinary actions and disputes over the university’s handling of harassment allegations drawing national attention.