National
Orphaned in 26/11 terror attacks, Moshe visits Mumbai after a decade (Lead)
Mumbai, Jan 16 (IANS) Almost a decade after he narrowly survived the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the orphaned Moshe Holtzberg arrived in Mumbai on a cool Tuesday morning on his first visit to India.
Then a toddler on the verge of turning two and now an 11-year-old, the bespectacled Moshe, sporting a T-shirt and shorts, landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) along with his grandparents, with whom he grew up in Israel.
Appearing a tad bewildered by the presence of a large media posse outside the CSIA, he kept close to his grandmother, with his grandfather following nearby.
Accompanying them was his savior and Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, who has lived with and looked after him in Israel since the harrowing experiences of 26/11 in the Chabad House, which is inside Nariman House in Colaba, in the southern tip of Mumbai.
At the media’s insistence, Moshe managed to say: “Shalom… Bahut khush” (Greetings, I feel very happy)”, as they stepped out around 8 a.m.
He religiously sported a small brimless cloth cap, called ‘kippah’ – which he kept on all through the day in Mumbai.
“I want to pray in Nariman House, where Moshe’s parents were killed… Moshe likes the people of India and loves the country. He wants to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said the boy’s grandfather, Shimon Rosenberg, sporting a snowwhite beard.
Later, in the afternoon, the entire family, including Samuel, visited the Chabad House, in Nariman House, Colaba, which was under siege by two Pakistani terrorists who gunned down seven persons there, including Moshe’s young parents.
They were warmly received there by the present Rabbi, Israel Kozlovsky, who also heads the Chabad Trust in India, along with his toddler child and other officials.
Moshe and his grandparents offered a brief but solemn prayer at the small synagogue here, visited the library and various other rooms, including the one in which his parents were felled by the terrorists bullets during the November 26-29 strikes.
Samuel took them around the room where Moshe’s parents were killed, and recounted the chilling events of that day to him and his grandparents, against the backdrop of the bullet-ridden walls, damaged plaster and floor, some tell-tale reddish-brown stains (probably blood) of the dance of death in the building exactly nine years and three months ago.
At one point, Rabbi Kozlovsky, his wife and Samuel posed before a large portrait of Moshe’s parents which hangs in one of the corridors of Chabad House, most of which has undergone a renovation.
Along with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Moshe is likely to visit the Chabad House on Thursday, to declare it as a Living Memorial.
Arriving in Mumbai in 2003, (Moshe’s parents) the Holtzbergs ran the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish outreach centre serving the tiny local Jewish community and visiting Israelis in the city, which was shut down after the terror strikes and reopened only in 2014.
When they were killed in the indiscriminate firing, the US-born Rabbi Gavriel was 29 and his Israel-born wife Rivka was 28.
Unknown to them, their toddler son Moshe, then barely two, was protected and saved by his Indian nanny, Samuel, and later they were taken to Israel.
As a gesture of goodwill for saving little Moshe’s life, Samuel was later granted an honorary citizenship of Israel and continues to live and work there.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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