Back in February there was yet another jihad terror attack on American soil: a Muslim named Mohammad Barry entered the Nazareth Restaurant & Deli in Columbus, Ohio and began slashing patrons with a machete. Later he screamed “Allahu akbar” and charged at police with the machete, and they shot him dead. Barry chose his target because the Nazareth Restaurant is owned by Hany Baransi, a proud Israeli Christian, and displays an Israeli flag. After the attack, Baransi was defiant, saying he was going to get a bigger Israeli flag, but then announced that he had instead decided to close the restaurant and move back to Israel.
I’m happy to report that he has apparently changed his mind. This week I was in Columbus, where I spoke Thursday and Friday, and had an opportunity to go to the Nazareth Restaurant (actually, two opportunities). I didn’t get a chance to say hello to Hany Baransi, but was glad to see that the restaurant was thriving and crowded, and the food was great. Because of the suicidal policies of the current and previous administrations and the Washington establishment, there are certain to be many more jihad terror attacks like the one at the Nazareth Restaurant. Jihadis will continue to try to “strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah” (Qur’an 8:60); it is crucial that free people not succumb to that terror, but instead be defiant and unafraid in the face of it. If these murderous bullies want us to be afraid, then that is above all what we must not be. As such, the Nazareth Restaurant defiantly open and packed with people was a magnificent sight to see.
Defiance in the face of evil is a necessity. If you are in Columbus, or anywhere near it, go grab lunch or dinner at the Nazareth. The gyros are out of this world. So is the Greek salad. Go, enjoy, and go again the next day.