Massachusetts Veterans Stage 'Eat-In' at Iraqi Restaurant

Last week, an unidentified New Hampshire man threw a 20-pound rock through the window of a Lowell, Mass., Iraqi restaurant named Babylon. Which is really something you shouldn't ever do, but perhaps especially when a large group of veterans has got the restaurant's back.

This week, a group of Lowell veterans organized a sit-in of sorts at the restaurant to encourage its Iraqi owners Leyla Al-Zubaydi and Ahmed Al-Zubaidi not to close it for fear of further hate crimes. And the sit-in went really well! By 8 p.m., more than 100 people came out in support of the restaurant and people have posted all kinds of nice messages to Babylon's Facebook page. One veteran explains, "Most of these Iraqis had supported the Coalition Forces one way or another and for someone to come here and do this, it's outrageous." Indeed. Here's some video of the sit-in:

Veterans fill Lowell Iraqi restaurant after window smashed:

· Veterans fill Lowell Iraqi restaurant after window smashed [YouTube]
· Downtown Iraqi Eatery's Plate Full With Vets' Support [Lowell Sun]

Babylon [Photo: Facebook]