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January 23, 2015 2:30 pm
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Petition Calls for Israel to Honor Muslim HyperCacher Hero Lassana Bathily

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avatar by Shiryn Ghermezian

A British woman is petitioning for Lassana Bathily to be honored by Israel. Photo: Change.org.

A British woman has started an online petition urging Israel to honor Lassana Bathily, the Muslim worker who saved seven Jews by hiding them during the January 9th HyperCacher supermarket terrorist attack in Paris.

“Lassana is an exemplary candidate for an official honor from Israel, and he is a shining example to citizens globally,” Ella Bennett says in her petition. “Not just in France but also in Israel, in the Islamic States, and in the Western world. He is an excellent example to all citizens that religion does not murder, that the principle of the human right to life trumps all other rights.”

Bathily, 24, hid Jewish customers in a cold-store when gunman Amedy Coulibaly stormed the kosher supermarket in Paris and killed four people. France has already granted the 24-year-old French nationality as a reward for his heroism, though he claims, “People say I’m a hero but I’m not a hero. I’m Lassana.”

“I was motivated by the successful petition in France to have Lassana honored with French citizenship,” Bennett said about starting her own petition, according to the UK’s Jewish Chronicle.  “As someone who is both Jewish and black I can relate to what he did on a number of levels.”

Bennett said she set her petition target at 250,000 signatures “because it’s a difficult number for Benjamin Netanyahu to ignore.”

“Benjamin Netanyahu and the state of Israel should do more to say thank you,” she added. “I know Netanyahu said thank you but I think he (Bathily) deserves a honor.”

Bennett said over 160 people have signed the petition since it launched on Wednesday, The Jewish Chronicle reported.

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