‘If being a 100% supporter of Israel means I am a Zionist, then I guess I am’
Video below:
Certain he was target of Islamic terrorism, Christian Haifa native Hany Baransi feels called to ‘educate’ others about the Jewish state
After not visiting Israel for nine years, Hany Baransi, the owner of theNazareth Restaurant and Deli in Columbus, Ohio, needed to be home in Haifa surrounded by family who would understand what he’s been going through lately — terrorism.
On February 11, Baransi’s popular restuarant was attacked by a machete-wielding assailant. The attacker, 30-year-old Mohamed Bary, was chased and killed by police after he allegedly lunged at them with a weapon. According to news reports, Bary, a Muslim from Guinea in West Africa, had previously come to the FBI’s attention with his radical Islamist statements.
While in northern Israel this week, Baransi told The Times of Israel by phone that he is sure the attack was a targeted assassination, although he was not at the restaurant at the time of the attack and had not received any threats. He said his staff told him that about half an hour before the attack, Bary had entered the restaurant asking about the owner’s national background. After staff members told Bary that Baransi was from Israel, he left. He soon returned wielding a machete and began hacking at customers and staff.
‘I am sure it was an assassination attempt. Mine is the only restaurant that displays an Israeli flag’
“I am sure it was an assassination attempt. I was the target. Why else would the Nazareth have been targeted? It wasn’t a random attack. Mine is the only restaurant in Columbus that displays an Israeli flag,” said Baransi.
Baransi, a 50-year-old Christian Arab who has lived in the United States since 1983, has always been proudly open about his Israeli nationality.
“I’m an American Israeli Christian Arab. My being Israeli comes first,” he said.
The Story Continues At TimesOfIsreal
