'Baby' Moshe arrives in Mumbai 9 years after parents' death in 26/11 attacks

MUMBAI: Nine years after his parents were shot by terrorists in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Moshe Holtzberg, more famously known as Baby Moshe, is back in town.

His parents, Gabi and Rivka Holtzberg were killed in Chabad House, during the 2008 terror attacks. Barely two years old then, Moshe was saved by his nanny Sandra Samuel.

She had reportedly grabbed him from the spot and fled outside.

Moshe is travelling with his grandparents to India. "It's a very special day. Thank God that Moshe could come again. Mumbai is a lot safer now," Moshe's grandfather Rabbi Holztberg Nachman said. 

Moshe will be returning to Nariman House - his home then - and one of the sites that terrorists chose for bloodbath.

Rabbi Israel Kozlovsky, Director of Chabad-run Jewish center at Nariman House had said that Moshe will be accompanying Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 18 for the inauguration of a memorial project dedicated to those killed in the 26/11 carnage.

Kozlovsky said, "We are very excited about this upcoming visit of Moshe Holtzberg with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We are heartened to see him here again in the Nariman House, the very place where his life was miraculously saved by his nanny, Sandra Samuel."

A part of the memorial will have a special area designed to remember the parents of Moshe Holtzberg. "We are very excited about this programme. This visit for Moshe is very emotional and sensitive as he lost his parents here. We will need the cooperation of the media and we will provide a press release at the end", he added.

Moshe was only two when terrorists killed his parents at Mumbai`s Jewish house. Then 'Baby Moshe' had become a face of the innocent victims of ruthless terrorism. 

His parents had moved to Mumbai seven years before the attack to work at the Chabad House. After the attack, Moshe's maternal grandparents took him to Afula, a city in Israel for his safety and comfort.