The wreath left outside the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in Paris by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius last Jan. 16, to pay homage to the Jewish victims of the Jan. 9 terrorist attack at that site. Photo: US Department of State.

The former owner of the Parisian kosher supermarket that was stormed by an ISIS-inspired terrorist last January received several job offers in Israel after a story about his job hunt was published by the Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon. 

Patrice Walid, who announced his intention to immigrate to Israel with his wife and three children just three days after the grisly attack at his Hyper Cacher store in Porte de Vincennes left four victims dead, told Makor Rishon last week, “I’ll work in whatever they give me.”

“I need to make a living. There are things that I cannot do because of the wound, like lifting heavy boxes. I want to return to the same line of work that I had in Paris. I understand that they won’t let me manage a store off the bat, but I am willing to start from the bottom, as a storekeeper or even a cashier,” Walid told Makor Rishon.

After the report was published, several firms contacted Walid with job offers, according to Makor Rishon. Some of the offers turned out not to fit Walid’s experience, while other firms remain in contact with him. Qualita, an organization aimed at helping French immigrants, also worked to connect Walid with potential employers.

Walid was shot in the arm and abdomen by the ISIS-inspired terrorist, Amedy Coulibaly, before managing to flee and inform police.

Qualita’s director general, Michael Ben-Saadon, told Makor Rishon on Thursday, “We know from experience on the ground that new immigrants can have great employment success in Israel. It requires a lot of responsibility on the immigrant’s part, as well as the right and effective support from government associations and organizations.”

“Everybody needs to carry out his role for it to succeed. The immigrant has to learn Hebrew and stay determined yet flexible. The government associations and organizations will provide [the immigrant] with the necessary tools,” said Ben-Saadon, who also called for a significant expansion of the Immigrant Absorption Ministry’s voucher program, which helps new immigrants access training for professional, in-demand skills to help enter the job market.