Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu meets Moshe Holtzberg at Chabad House in Mumbai
Highlights
- Israeli PM Netanyahu opens memorial at Nariman House for 26/11 victims
- Special area designed to remember Moshe's parents killed in 26/11 attacks
- Benjamin Netanyahu's Mumbai trip is the last leg of his India visit
11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg by his side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday opened a memorial at the Nariman House for the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people including Moshe's parents.
Calling Nariman House, also known as Chabad House, a blend of love and hate, Mr Netanyahu said, "Moshe's parents showed a lot of love for their mission while they were alive. They had room for everyone. But hate (terrorists) took their lives."
The memorial will be housed on the top two floors and terrace of the Nariman House and will be dedicated to the victims of 26/11 attack. Part of it will have a special area designed to remember Moshe's parents -- Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and Rivka.
The event was attended by Moshe's grandparents, who accompanied him on this trip to Mumbai, and his Indian-origin nanny Sandra Samuel who saved Moshe as terrorists laid siege to the Jewish centre in 2008.
Moshe arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday, his first visit to the city since the attack. He had planned to visit Mumbai when he turned 13, but that was advanced by two years after an invitation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Israel last year. "I can see you grow up and taller. You are 11 and soon you will have bar mitzvah (a ceremony that marks the entry of Jewish boys into spiritual adulthood)," Mr Netanyahu told Moshe.
Moshe's uncle who spoke to NDTV after the event had one clear message. "Ten years ago this terror attack happened and now Moshe and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, have come here. It's an answer to terrorism that we have won," he said. After the visit to Nariman House, Mr Netanyahu also met members of the local Jewish community in Mumbai.