26/11 survivor Moshe Holtzberg invited to Israel's 25th Knesset's inauguration

In a special gesture, Moshe Holtzberg, who survived the Mumbai terror attack as a toddler in 2008, was invited to the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected Knesset (Israeli parliament) on Tuesday.

During the inauguration event, the 16-year-old recited a chapter from the Book of Psalms (Tehillim) 'for my brothers and friends.'

 

Next week marks the 14th anniversary of the horrific terror attack in which 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists killed nearly 166 people from Pakistan and targeted the Mumbai Chabad House.

The 26/11 attack remains an emotional memory for many Israelis, who believe that the Mumbai assault 'is a common pain' that connects India and Israel together.

Several events are held across the country to pay tribute to the victims of the attack, in which LeT terrorists also killed six Jews at the Nariman House, also known as the Chabad House.

Israeli politicians and officials have repeatedly demanded that those responsible for the horrific act be 'brought to justice.'

Moshe was just two years old at the time of the attack. His parents, Gabriel and Rivka Holtzberg were killed in the attack; however, he escaped as his nanny heard him crying, and she risked her own life to pull him out of the Chabad house.

On October 28, the kid addressed an informal briefing of the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee, which met in Mumbai via video link, advocating for clever ways to fight terror so that 'nobody has to go through what he has gone through.'

His grandparents shared a video with PTI, where he is seen narrating the incident and his lucky escape with the help of his nanny, Sandra, 'who risked her own life to save me.'

According to Moshe, his grandparents, Rabbi Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg, raised him in Israel as their own son. 

Moshe recalled his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Israel in 2017, "He greeted me warmly and was pleased and invited me with my grandparents to visit India." He added, "It was extremely important for him to see me." They later visited Mumbai during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2018 visit to India.

"I am grateful to him (Modi) for his warmth and care," said Moshe, who aspires to be the Director of Mumbai's Chabad House.

"Your conference in Mumbai is crucial so that you will find new ways to fight terror so that no one goes through what I have gone through," he concluded his speech at the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee.

According to the Hebrew calendar, the family will hold remembrance day prayers for their loved ones on November 24 in Jerusalem at the Mt. of Olives cemetery. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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