Moshe Holtzberg, famously known as Baby Moshe, who survived the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks - but unfortunately lost both his parents - is back In India. The kid with golden curls, maintained by a Jewish sect, is one of three people who survived this fatal attack?from the Chabad House carnage, thereby became an unforgettable face. All eyes are on him as he returns to the place where he once lived as a toddler and his parents worked to serve one of the world's oldest faiths, Judaism.?
Also read:?In A Heartwarming Gesture, PM Modi Meets Baby Moshe And His Nanny Who Survived 26/11 Attacks
Over 100 Israeli and Indian security personnel will guard the area alongside city police during this visit.?
During the attack, he was found lying next to the corpse of his mother and father by?Sandra Samuel, his Indian nanny. On his visit, now 11-years-old, Moshe will visit?the nondescript five-storey grey building in Colaba, resonated, however intact with bullet marks.
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Rabbi Yisroel Kozlovsky, who with wife Chaya looks after the Nariman House, home for the Chabad of India Trust, expressed his delight at Moshe visiting his former home accompanied by his grandparents Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg and his nanny Samuel, who looked after Moshe till he turned six, and moved to Jerusalem to work at a rehabilitation home for disabled children. Samuel takes a bus to Afula, 95 km away, to meet Moshe on Sundays.?
"We're excited to see Baby Moshe visit for the first time the very place where his life was miraculously saved. Moshe is no longer a baby, but he will always remain so in our hearts. His visit with Israeli Prime Minister will be to unveil our Living Memorial project to commemorate and remember all the names of all the victims of the 26/11 attack," said Kozlovsky.?
At a ceremony on Thursday, the student of yeshivah (a Jewish institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts) will join Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in unveiling a plaque honouring his parents at Nariman House.
The plaque meant to serve as the cornerstone for the Living Memorial is designed to educate and inspire people of all backgrounds to act for the betterment of themselves, their communities and the world.
The Living Memorial will include the apartment where the Holtzbergs lived, as well as the floor where the massacre occurred.?
The top floor, from where one can see sites of the other terror attacks that swept through Mumbai, will be a reflection garden focused on all the victims of the attacks. "We're hoping to complete a part of the memorial by the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack. It will be open to the public, subject to security."?
Moshe's financial well-being is currently taken care of by a fund established by Chabad-Lubavitch and expected to see him into adulthood.
"We're preparing children's kosher snacks along with interesting juices and we hope Baby Moshe, will remember those special moments. Baby Moshe would also be visiting the Gateway of India," was all that Kozlovsky was willing to divulge about Moshe's itinerary during his three-day stay in Mumbai.
"Baby Moshe is still a child and his visit to Nariman House is an emotional and sensitive one. This is the building where he received his last hug and kiss from his parents. The wellness of this child is of utmost importance for Jewish, Indian and Israeli nations," he said citing the need to protect Moshe from the intense media glare.
Moshe's Mumbai trip comes as a reciprocal visit promised by Israeli PM Netanyahu following Modi's meeting with the family in Israel last July, when he invited Moshe to India. For the 3,000-member strong Jewish community living in Mumbai, Baby Moshe's homecoming is a poignant one.?
"We will be thrilled to see Baby Moshe. We remember his parents, especially his father, a rabbi who would pray at our Knesset Eliyahu Synagogue every Friday and Saturday. We would have loved our beloved son (Moshe) to be with us but he had to go. I'm sure he will visit our synagogue," said Solomon Sopher, president of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Mumbai, also hopeful that a Prime Minister's visit after 15 years would strengthen ties between their home in India and Israel further. His only appeal:
"A lot of Indian Jews find it difficult to get visas to Israel and I often have to write letters stating their origin. I wish the PM would do something to ease the process." Eddna Samuel, a Bene-Israel Jew in the city too said that Netanyahu's visit is a historic milestone for Jews in India.
"India has given us respect and love and treated us like family. Our roots are deep and we'd like to thank PM Modi for giving Moshe a 10-year unconditional visa. I hope the Israeli PM extends the same to Jews settled in India, too."
Reuters
On the night of November 26, gunmen had stormed Nariman House, the seat of the Jewish Chabad on Hormustji Street, and held six Israelis, hostage. Among those who died in the 48-hour siege were Moshe's parents¡ªRabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and a pregnant Rivka¡ªwho managed the Jewish spiritual centre.