Muslim hero in Paris market attack honored in N.Y. Facebook Twitter Email SMS WhatsApp Share By J. Correspondent | June 19, 2015 The Muslim employee who saved Jewish shoppers during a terrorist attack on a Paris kosher supermarket was honored in New York. Lassana Bathily was presented with an official city proclamation on June 12 by Mayor Bill de Blasio for his actions during the Hyper Cacher siege on Jan. 9. Bathily, an immigrant from Mali, was in the basement when a gunman entered the store. He hid 15 Jewish shoppers, including a 2-year-old child, in the supermarket freezer. De Blasio called Bathily a “real hero” who “stood up to protect human life even when his own life is in danger,” the New York Daily News reported. The meeting took place at the Islamic Center of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. Bathily was flown in to be recognized at the annual scholarship dinner of the New York Police Department’s Muslim Officers Society, according to the newspaper. Earlier in the week, the American Jewish Committee presented Bathily with its Moral Courage Award at its 2015 Global Forum in Washington, D.C. “What I did was place people out of danger and ensure their safety — something everybody can do when they find themselves in such an extreme situation,” Bathily told AJC. “For me, this is a normal and humane response.” At the forum, AJC presented posthumous awards citing Dan Uzan, a Jewish volunteer security guard murdered while protecting a Copenhagen synagogue in February, and Zidan Sief, an Israeli Druze policeman killed while trying to stop a terror attack at a Jerusalem synagogue last November. — jta J. Correspondent Also On J. Torah In Moses’ self-doubt, a great lesson in humility Politics With retirement on the horizon, a look at Dianne Feinstein’s Jewish legacy Obituaries Death announcements for the week of March 31, 2023 Lifecycles Lifecycles announcements for the week of March 31, 2023 Subscribe to our Newsletter Enter Email Sign Up