Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg who was orphaned in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, unveiled the living memorial at the Nariman House in Colaba on Thursday.
Mr. Netanyahu was shown around the entire building, also known as Chabad House, before he addressed a small gathering in Hebrew on the third floor auditorium.
Moshe, along with his grandparents and nanny Sandra Samuel, accompanied the Prime Minister and current Rabbi Israel Kozlovsky as he walked through each floor. Moshe however was kept away from visiting the fourth floor, a stark reminder of the severity of the attack.
Mr. Netanyahu expressed his warmth towards the Chabad Lubavitch movement and said that he wanted the Nariman House to become the place of light.
“He wants the memorial to serve as the place of light and he looks forward to its completion,” said Rabbi Kozlovsky, the current head of Nariman House.
“This place is a place of disaster and darkness. But it will be turned into a beacon of light. The world will see it shine. The terrorists have caused so much disaster and darkness but we will turn it into goodness and kindness,” said Rabbi Kozlovsky, adding that the Prime Minister was extremely touched when he walked through the fourth floor where little Moshe’s bedroom walls have Hebrew alphabets written by his mother and the markings of his growing height on the wall. He later unveiled the plaque on the second floor synagogue. The plaque stands in the same place where Moshe’s father Rabbi Gaviel Holtzberg was found dead.
According to Rabbi Kozlovsky, little Moshe presented a replica of a holy book to the Prime Minister.
“On the second floor synagogue, we have the holy arch which had a straight hit from a bullet during the terror attack. The bullet went through the scroll which has five holy books of Moses inside. When they opened the scroll, they found the bullet had gone through it,” said Rabbi Kozlovsky, adding that Moshe presented a miniature model of that book to Mr. Netanyahu. While the original book is in Israel, it will be brought back to Chabad House when the memorial opens.
Rabbi Kozlovsky also said that little Moshe invited the Prime Minister to his Bar Mitzvah ceremony that will take place at the Chabad House when he turns 13.
Moshe’s homecoming has been overwhelming for the minor himself as well as his family from the maternal and paternal side.
