Hyper Cacher hero honored in NY

The Muslim store employee who saved 15 French Jews during the terrorist attack on a kosher supermarket is honored in New York.

Lassana Bathily was feted on Friday by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who presented him with an official city proclamation honoring him for his actions in the Hyper Cacher attack in Paris on January 9.

Bathily, a Muslim immigrant from Mali who worked at the kosher supermarket, was in the basement when a gunman entered the store. He hid Jewish shoppers, including a 2-year-old child, in the supermarket freezer.

Paris kosher supermarket employee Lassana Bathily (screen capture: YouTube)

Bathily was flown to New York to be honored at the annual scholarship dinner of the NYPD Muslim Officers Society, the New York Daily News reported.

De Blasio called Bathily a “real hero” who “stood up to protect human life even when his own life is in danger,” according to the newspaper. The meeting took place at the Islamic Center of Brighton Beach.

— JTA