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Bravery Amid Terror

Lior Zilberstein

Ynet News

I

n a weekend of tragedy, the deeds of Lassana Bathily are a symbol
of hope that the human spirit and compassion can unite people and
overcome cultural and religious conflicts.
Bathily, 24, is a Mali-born French Muslim, who for the past four years
has worked at the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in Paris. He was
there when terrorist Amdey Coulibaly stormed in on Friday. Without
hesitation, knowing that if caught his own life would be in danger, Bathily
led six customers down to the freezer rooms, away from the gunman.
"I am a devout Muslim — I even pray in the
store. We get on excellently, the Jews and I, and the
terror attack has hurt me," Bathily says in an exclu-
sive interview with Ynet's sister publication, Yedioth
Ahronoth. "I have been in shock since it happened:'
When the gunman first opened fire, Bathily was
arranging stock. "We opened the supermarket at
8 a.m. and we prepared for a busy day because on
Fridays everyone comes to buy for Shabbat," he says.
Lassana Bathily
"Shortly after 12:30, I went down to the bottom
floor in order to organize the stock, and after a few
minutes, I suddenly heard gunshots. Seconds later, customers and other
staff began to run down the stairs, and I asked them what had happened.
They told me that there was a man armed with a Kalashnikov upstairs:"
Bathily kept his cool and tried to calm the terrified customers.
"I told them that the terrorist must not hear them so that he would
not come down," he recalls. "Then I showed them that we had two
freezer rooms on the bottom floor — one for meat and one for dairy
products — that could be locked with a key. I opened the two rooms and
put about five people inside each one, and I asked them to be calm and
turn off their phones so that they would not make a noise. Then I turned
off the light on the floor, I locked the dairy freezer room and I got into
the meat room."
There in the freezers, while the gunman was killing hostages upstairs,
Bathily and the others managed to keep their nerve.
"We were relatively calm," he says. "I wasn't familiar with the people
I was hiding with — they were customers and staff that I didn't know
so well. After a while, one of the cashiers knocked on the door of the
freezer room and said that the gunman had demanded that everyone go
upstairs — and if we didn't, he would kill everyone on the upper floor
and then come down and kill us all:'
The demand left the people hiding in a dilemma.
"We talked about it between us, and we couldn't decide what to do,"
Bathily recalls. "Some thought that we had to go up, and some said that
it was better to remain downstairs. In the end, two people went up — a
customer and an employee:'
At that stage, Bathily decided to take action. "I suggested that the hos-
tages escape out of the emergency exit," he says.
"They didn't want to go and preferred to stay and wait for the police,
but I was scared that the police outside did not know that there were
people hiding on the lower level, too, and wouldn't know that they had to
rescue us. So I decided to take a chance — and I went out:"
The employee stepped out of the store and discovered a heavy police
presence surrounding the supermarket. "When I went out, I quickly
reached the police waiting outside," he says. "When they realized that I
had come from inside, they asked me to draw the layout of the store, so I
tried to help them as much as I could and drew the Hyper Cacher to the
best of my abilities." Bathily gave the police a key that allowed them to
storm the building and kill the terrorist.
Hailed as the hero of the hour, Bathily has only been able to think
about one thing since the attack — his slain workmate and friend Yohan
Cohen, who was shot dead by the terrorist after Cohen stole one of his
guns in an effort to end the siege.
"He was a wonderful guy, I am so sad about him," he says.

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See related stories on page 28.

50 January 15 • 2015

JEFFREY DANIEL ADELMAN, 48, died in Los
Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2015.
He was born June 24, 1966, in Ann Arbor;
and he lived in Ann Arbor, Birmingham and
Washington, D.C., before making Santa Monica,
Calif., his home.
Mr. Adelman was general counsel and secre-
tary of j2 Global Inc., a Los Angeles technology
and communications company. Prior to joining
j2 in 2000, he practiced corporate, securities,
and mergers and acquisitions law with Miller,
Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC in Detroit. Mr.
Adelman attended the University of Michigan
law school and was a member of the State Bar of
California and State Bar of Michigan.
He is survived by his wife, Juli; his sons,
Samuel, 8, and Benjamin, 6; his parents, Judith
and Joel; his siblings, Elizabeth, Laurel and
Michael (Deirdre), along with many cousins,
nieces, nephews and friends.
The funeral in Los Angeles took place on Jan.
13 at Hillside Memorial Park; a memorial ser-
vice will be held on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 1 p.m. at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
Contributions may be made to the Santa
Monica Synagogue, 1448 18th St., Santa Monica,
CA 90404; or to a charity of one's choice.

SHELLEY BAHASH, 68, of Oak

Park, died Jan. 6, 2015.
She is survived by her son
and daughter-in-law, Korey
and Deborah Bahash of Oak
Park; daughter, Lisa Bahash of
Madison Heights; brother and
sister-in-law, Gerry and Susan
Bahash
Gorewich of West Palm Beach,
Fla.; grandchildren, Blake
McClellan, Zachary Bahash,
Andrew Bahash. She is also survived by Avner
Bashman.
Contributions may be made to American
Cancer Society, 20450 Civic Center Drive,
Southfield, MI 48076; or to a charity of one's
choice. Interment was held at Hebrew Memorial
Park. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

NORMAN BLOCK, 73, of

Bloomfield Hills, died Jan. 7,
2015.
He survived by his beloved
wife, Sharon Block; sons and
daughters-in-law, Matthew and
Susan Block of Atlanta, Ga.,
Jonathan and Stacey Block of
Huntington Woods; sisters and
brother-in-law, Eileen Millstone
of Farmington Hills, Judith and
Norman Burnstein of West Bloomfield; brothers-
in-law and sisters-in-law, Dr. Melvin and Audrey
Bornstein, Zelda and Gerald Stone; grandchildren,
Dempsey, Copeland, Hunter, Mariah, Asher,
Noah; many loving nieces, nephews, other family
members and friends.
Mr. Block was the brother-in-law of the late
Benita Bornstein.
Contributions may be made to the Dorothy and
Peter Brown Adult Day Care at the Jewish Center.
Interment took place at the Oakview Cemetery in
Royal Oak. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

DORA BORINSTEIN, 93, of West Bloomfield,

died Jan. 5, 2015.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-
law, Dr. Dennis and Carole Borinstein of Beverly
Hills, Calif.; brother, Melvin Denenberg of West
Bloomfield; grandchildren, Meredith (Jim) Pharis,
Clark Engelson, David Borinstein; many lov-
ing nieces, nephews, other family members and
friends.
Mrs. Borinstein was the beloved wife of the
late Morris Borinstein; mother of the late Jo Ann
Engelson; sister of the late Rose and the late
Mannie Wilen.
Contributions may be made to the American
Cancer Society or to a charity of one's choice.
Interment took place at Oakview Cemetery in
Royal Oak. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.

MOSHE "BUDDY" COHEN,

90, of Bradenton, Fla., formerly
of West Bloomfield, died Jan, 6,
2015.
He was an Army Air Corps
veteran, an electronics store
owner, an investor, avid bowler,
golfer, a member of the "Big Boy
Cohen
Coffee Clutch" and was known
for his quick wit.
He was the loving father of
Denise (Raleigh) Harris, Brian (Fran) Cohen and
Jason (Carolyn) Cohen; loving stepfather of Jan
(Miho) Stepka, David (Pamela) Stepka, Terry
(Bill) Sampson and Darian (Barbara) Stepka;
adoring grandfather of Carmen, Jessica (Josh),
Shayna (Phil), Noah, Alanna, Alissa, Mikki,
Anna, Jo and Miranda; great-grandfather of Ryan,
Samantha, Jonah, Brooke, Abby, Rebecca and
Lucy. He is also survived by many loving nieces,
nephews, cousins, other family members and life-
long friends.
Mr. Cohen was the beloved husband of the late
Vera Cohen.
Arrangements by Brown & Sons Funeral Homes
& Crematory, 43rd St., Bradenton, FL 34209.
Contributions may be made to Sokol Detroit
Gymnastics, do Renata Greene, 7325 Cold Spring
Lane, West Bloomfield, MI 48322; or to the char-
ity of one's choice. Condolences to www.
brownandsonsfuneral.com .

ALYCE DIAMOND, 99, of

Southfield, died Dec. 23, 2014,
two days shy of her 100th
birthday.
She was the devoted daugh-
ter of the late Israel and Esther
Patrick and the loving wife of
the late Lee Diamond.
Diamond
Mrs. Diamond was the sis-
ter and sister-in-law of the
late Sadie and Maurice Lahr, the late Bertha
and Jules Allen, the late Morey (Rose) Patrick,
Harold Patrick, and Rosalyn (the late Bernard
H.) Winer. Mrs. Diamond was the cherished
aunt of Selma Silverman, Bernice Allen,
Marilyn Hodgson, Sam Lahr, the late Judith
Sandler, Susan (Rick) Goldsmith, Stephen
(Lynn) Patrick, Bruce (Barbara) Patrick, Joanne
Patrick, the late Maureen Simon, Denise (Gary)
Rosenthal, and the late Mark Patrick.
Alyce is also survived by many great-nieces