"Dear Sandra, Thank you for saving Moshe," wrote Daniel Smith, a fifth-grader at Solomon Schecter Day School of Nassau County, to express his appreciation to the Indian nanny who saved two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg from the terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai, India two weeks ago.
The boy's parents, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were both killed in the attack.
Smith's fifth-grade classmates wrote individual letters to the nanny, Sandra Samuel, which were presented to the Israeli Consulate in New York for delivery to Israel.
Smith was joined at the Consulate by his fifth grade classmate, Jennifer Lipman, their principal, Dr. Cindy Dolgin, and their Judaic Studies teacher, Lizet Romano, who initiated the project. The two represented the entire fifth grade in delivering the letters that recognized Samuel for her heroic act based on the Jewish tradition that "One who saves one person saves an entire nation."
In their letters, the students thanked Samuels for her bravery and assured her that her good deed did not go unnoticed in their community. Lipman wrote, "Everyone at my school thinks you are a hero. Thank you for all you've done."
Administrators felt there was a valuable pedagogical reason for this exercise. Dolgin commented, "What could our young students do under such terrifying circumstances taking place half a world away? As a class, the children and their teacher decided to write letters to Sandra Samuel to express their gratitude, their amazement and their awe for her bravery and courage in rescuing little Moshe, not unlike the rescue of another baby Moshe they had learned about in the Book of Exodus."
In addressing the students, David Saranga, Consul for Media and Public Affairs applauded the students' desire to express their thanks. ?The right way to transmit our thanks as the State of Israel is to welcome her into our community, as we have done. Samuel did the right thing by saving Moshe. She demonstrated that human life is valuable regardless of religion or ethnicity."
The students' letters have been passed for delivery to Chabad in Israel. Rabbi Shmuel Butman, Director of Lubavitch Youth Organization, noted, "Moishi was calling 'Mommy, mommy.' Sandra heard Moishi's cry and she brought him to safety totally sacrificing her own safety. She will be eternally remembered for her selflessness and heroism."
The Solomon Schechter Day School of Nassau County, located in Jericho, NY, is a Jewish Day Elementary School affiliated with the Conservative Movement and provides a dual curriculum in Judaic and secular education. The school also has a wide-ranging Israel studies program that stresses appreciation for Israel as a democratic and multicultural society.
The Consulate has prepared a short video of the event highlights, which can be viewed online at www.israelpolitik.org.
Showing posts with label Sandra Samuel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sandra Samuel. Show all posts
Friday, December 12, 2008
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Chabad nanny: I should have done more
In the night between Wednesday and Thursday, while explosions and gunshots shook the walls of the house, Samuel said she attempted to reach the rabbi and his wife who were located on the second floor.
Thursday afternoon, Samuel heard Moshe calling for her and found him in tears, standing beside his parents, who were laying on the ground unconscious, but appeared to be alive.
Samuel said the marks she found on Moshe's back indicated that he had been hit hard buy the terrorists and she believes he may have lost consciousness for some time.
"First thing is that a baby is very important for me and this baby is something very precious to me and that's what made me just not think anything - just pick up the baby and run," Samuel said.
In CNN interview, Sandra Samuel who saved two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg from terror attack on Jewish center in Mumbai gives her account of horrific event, says does not view herself as a hero
Ynet
Sandra Samuel, the Indian nanny that saved Holtzberg toddler Moshe from the terror attack on a Chabad house in Mumbai last week, said she was no hero.
In an interview to CNN on Thursday, the nanny said she regrets not doing more for Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, two-year-old Moshe's parents.
"Even today, I am thinking I should have sent the baby and done something for the rabbi and his wife," Samuel told CNN in an exclusive television interview in Israel, where she now lives.
Six people were killed in the Chabad house massacre, and Sandra and Moshe were the sole survivors.
Samuel recounted the terrifying moments, "I saw one man was shooting at me - he shot at me," she said. Samuel then slammed the door and hid in a first floor storage room.
"When I hear gunshot, it's not one or 20. It's like a hundred gunshots," she added. "Even I'm a mother of two children so I just pick up the baby and run. Does anyone think of dying at the moment when there's a small, precious baby?"
Samuel said the child still calls out for his mother, but is learning to play again, with her by his side. The nanny said she would stay in Israel as long as she was needed. "Yes, yes, they said it is important I am here," she said. "Me, I just take care of the baby."
At least 179 people were killed in the Mumbai terror attack, that lasted some 60 hours, and over 300 people were injured.
Ten terrorists barricaded themselves in several spots in the city, armed with guns and grenades. Indian officials have pointed the finger at neighboring Pakistan, and estimate the attack was meant to be even larger.
Thursday afternoon, Samuel heard Moshe calling for her and found him in tears, standing beside his parents, who were laying on the ground unconscious, but appeared to be alive.
Samuel said the marks she found on Moshe's back indicated that he had been hit hard buy the terrorists and she believes he may have lost consciousness for some time.
"First thing is that a baby is very important for me and this baby is something very precious to me and that's what made me just not think anything - just pick up the baby and run," Samuel said.
In CNN interview, Sandra Samuel who saved two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg from terror attack on Jewish center in Mumbai gives her account of horrific event, says does not view herself as a hero
Ynet
Sandra Samuel, the Indian nanny that saved Holtzberg toddler Moshe from the terror attack on a Chabad house in Mumbai last week, said she was no hero.
In an interview to CNN on Thursday, the nanny said she regrets not doing more for Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, two-year-old Moshe's parents.
"Even today, I am thinking I should have sent the baby and done something for the rabbi and his wife," Samuel told CNN in an exclusive television interview in Israel, where she now lives.
Six people were killed in the Chabad house massacre, and Sandra and Moshe were the sole survivors.
Samuel recounted the terrifying moments, "I saw one man was shooting at me - he shot at me," she said. Samuel then slammed the door and hid in a first floor storage room.
"When I hear gunshot, it's not one or 20. It's like a hundred gunshots," she added. "Even I'm a mother of two children so I just pick up the baby and run. Does anyone think of dying at the moment when there's a small, precious baby?"
Samuel said the child still calls out for his mother, but is learning to play again, with her by his side. The nanny said she would stay in Israel as long as she was needed. "Yes, yes, they said it is important I am here," she said. "Me, I just take care of the baby."
At least 179 people were killed in the Mumbai terror attack, that lasted some 60 hours, and over 300 people were injured.
Ten terrorists barricaded themselves in several spots in the city, armed with guns and grenades. Indian officials have pointed the finger at neighboring Pakistan, and estimate the attack was meant to be even larger.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Funeral preparations for Mumbai Chabad House victims under way
NEW YORK-JERUSALEM (EJP)—The funerals of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, who were killed in the terrorist attack against the Chabad House in Mumbai, India, will likely not take place before Monday afternoon, the Chabad-Lubavitch website said Sunday.
Israeli embassy officials in India are preparing the necessary paperwork and awaiting clearance from New Delhi to transport the deceased to Israel for burial.
Other victims identified at the Chabad House include kosher supervisors Rabbi Leibish Teitelbaum, a US born scion of the Volover Chasidic dynasty who lived in Israel, and Bentzion Chroman, an Israeli from the town of Bat Yam, and Yocheved Orpaz, an Israeli who was in India to visit her daughter and grandchildren. A sixth victim has yet to be officially named.
Rikva Holtzberg’s parents, Rabbi Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg of Afula, Israel, arrived in Mumbai on Friday to be with their grandson Moshe, who was rescued from the Rohr Chabad Center – also known as the Nariman House – by his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, who hided from the Islamist terrorists for 12 hours.
The family marked Moshe’s two-year birthday.
An Israeli air force plane, due to take off for Mumbai on Sunday afternoon to repatriate the bodies, had been delayed for a few hours, a foreign ministry
spokesman said in Jerusalem, after earlier reporting that it had left.
The plane was due to take representatives of the army, the rabbinate and foreign ministry, as well as forensic experts, but had been held up as all the necessary visas had not been obtained.
The Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel, relaying a request from the Rosenberg and Holtzberg families, asked the Israeli government to facilitate the nanny’s entry to the country.
The Israeli media also highlighted the case of Sandra Samuel with news websites reporting calls for her to be given leave to come to Israel indefinitely or even be declared a so-called righteous gentile for her role in saving two-year-old Moshe.
"We didn't get any application yet but that doesn't mean we won't approve it," said interior ministry spokeswoman Sabine Hadad.
"If we get the application, I am sure that we will consider all that took place."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had praised the nanny's "heroic" rescue of
the son and said that "during a time of terrible sadness, her courage
reaffirms our faith in the capacity of good to triumph over evil."
Nearly 200 people are now known to have died in the attacks which ravaged the Indian commercial capital, hitting five-star hotels and other targets frequented by Westerners as well as Beit Chabad.
Israeli newspapers gave blanket coverage to the Mumbai carnage in Sunday's editions, their first since the confirmation of the Israeli dead late on Friday.
The top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily devoted over a dozen pages to the attacks, the Maariv newspaper used its first 17.
Yediot carried extensive criticism of the Indian commando operation and the length of time it had taken to overcome the militants.
"Ten terrorists, who, according to the findings of the investigation, arrived by rubber raft at the shore of Mumbai carrying machine guns, grenades and dry rations in their luggage, succeeded -- almost inconceivably -- in keeping almost 1,000 commando troops and counter-terrorism combat units occupied for three days, in several battle sites," one article said.
But the Israeli foreign ministry put out a statement to domestic media distancing itself from the criticism of the Indian security forces.
“We are convinced that the Indian forces did everything they could to prevent harm from coming to the captives and civilians during the storming of the Chabad House," Yediot's website quoted ministry spokesman Yossi Levi as saying.
Israeli embassy officials in India are preparing the necessary paperwork and awaiting clearance from New Delhi to transport the deceased to Israel for burial.
Other victims identified at the Chabad House include kosher supervisors Rabbi Leibish Teitelbaum, a US born scion of the Volover Chasidic dynasty who lived in Israel, and Bentzion Chroman, an Israeli from the town of Bat Yam, and Yocheved Orpaz, an Israeli who was in India to visit her daughter and grandchildren. A sixth victim has yet to be officially named.
Rikva Holtzberg’s parents, Rabbi Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg of Afula, Israel, arrived in Mumbai on Friday to be with their grandson Moshe, who was rescued from the Rohr Chabad Center – also known as the Nariman House – by his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, who hided from the Islamist terrorists for 12 hours.
The family marked Moshe’s two-year birthday.
An Israeli air force plane, due to take off for Mumbai on Sunday afternoon to repatriate the bodies, had been delayed for a few hours, a foreign ministry
spokesman said in Jerusalem, after earlier reporting that it had left.
The plane was due to take representatives of the army, the rabbinate and foreign ministry, as well as forensic experts, but had been held up as all the necessary visas had not been obtained.
The Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel, relaying a request from the Rosenberg and Holtzberg families, asked the Israeli government to facilitate the nanny’s entry to the country.
The Israeli media also highlighted the case of Sandra Samuel with news websites reporting calls for her to be given leave to come to Israel indefinitely or even be declared a so-called righteous gentile for her role in saving two-year-old Moshe.
"We didn't get any application yet but that doesn't mean we won't approve it," said interior ministry spokeswoman Sabine Hadad.
"If we get the application, I am sure that we will consider all that took place."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had praised the nanny's "heroic" rescue of
the son and said that "during a time of terrible sadness, her courage
reaffirms our faith in the capacity of good to triumph over evil."
Nearly 200 people are now known to have died in the attacks which ravaged the Indian commercial capital, hitting five-star hotels and other targets frequented by Westerners as well as Beit Chabad.
Israeli newspapers gave blanket coverage to the Mumbai carnage in Sunday's editions, their first since the confirmation of the Israeli dead late on Friday.
The top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily devoted over a dozen pages to the attacks, the Maariv newspaper used its first 17.
Yediot carried extensive criticism of the Indian commando operation and the length of time it had taken to overcome the militants.
"Ten terrorists, who, according to the findings of the investigation, arrived by rubber raft at the shore of Mumbai carrying machine guns, grenades and dry rations in their luggage, succeeded -- almost inconceivably -- in keeping almost 1,000 commando troops and counter-terrorism combat units occupied for three days, in several battle sites," one article said.
But the Israeli foreign ministry put out a statement to domestic media distancing itself from the criticism of the Indian security forces.
“We are convinced that the Indian forces did everything they could to prevent harm from coming to the captives and civilians during the storming of the Chabad House," Yediot's website quoted ministry spokesman Yossi Levi as saying.
Chabad: Allow Indian nanny to immigrate to Israel
On Friday two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg was orphaned of both his parents, Chabad emissaries to Mumbai. Now both his family and the ultra-Orthodox organization are asking that his savior, Sandra Samuel, be allowed to come to Israel
Ynet
Chairman of 'Agudas Chasidei Chabad,' Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Aharonov, has called for Israel to allow the Indian caretaker who saved toddler Moshe Holtzberg from the besieged Chabad center in Mumbai to immigrate.
Sandra Samuel grabbed the toddler, who turned two on Saturday, as terrorists stormed the ultra-Orthodox center and escaped with him in her arms. Both of Moshe's parents, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, were murdered.
"I've spoken to the people in India, we've asked them to arrange the visa. The request has also come from the emissary's (Holtzberg) father and Rivka's mother. At this point she's the only one the boy is responding to," Aharonov told Ynet.
The Holtzberg family is keen to see the nanny, who is very close to the toddler, come back to Israel with him. Their only concern is the bureaucratic hurdle.
Chabad spokesman, Rabbi Menachem Brod: "Rabbi Aharonov spoke with the grandfather and grandmother, and they both feel the nanny should come with the child. But there is paperwork to arrange. We ask the government to work towards bringing her here.
Samuel is currently staying with Moshe at the home of Ehud Raz, the top security officer at the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai. The toddler's maternal grandparents are also with him, having rushed to India from Israel as news of the crisis emerged.
"In the evening his mother always puts him to sleep and now he doesn't understand what's going on," Samuel said. Regarding the attack on the Chabad center she said, "It was terrible, there were explosions everywhere, gunfire – they tried to shoot me.
Ynet
Chairman of 'Agudas Chasidei Chabad,' Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Aharonov, has called for Israel to allow the Indian caretaker who saved toddler Moshe Holtzberg from the besieged Chabad center in Mumbai to immigrate.
Sandra Samuel grabbed the toddler, who turned two on Saturday, as terrorists stormed the ultra-Orthodox center and escaped with him in her arms. Both of Moshe's parents, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, were murdered.
"I've spoken to the people in India, we've asked them to arrange the visa. The request has also come from the emissary's (Holtzberg) father and Rivka's mother. At this point she's the only one the boy is responding to," Aharonov told Ynet.
The Holtzberg family is keen to see the nanny, who is very close to the toddler, come back to Israel with him. Their only concern is the bureaucratic hurdle.
Chabad spokesman, Rabbi Menachem Brod: "Rabbi Aharonov spoke with the grandfather and grandmother, and they both feel the nanny should come with the child. But there is paperwork to arrange. We ask the government to work towards bringing her here.
Samuel is currently staying with Moshe at the home of Ehud Raz, the top security officer at the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai. The toddler's maternal grandparents are also with him, having rushed to India from Israel as news of the crisis emerged.
"In the evening his mother always puts him to sleep and now he doesn't understand what's going on," Samuel said. Regarding the attack on the Chabad center she said, "It was terrible, there were explosions everywhere, gunfire – they tried to shoot me.
Chabad hero nanny heading to Israel
Nov. 30, 2008
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
Sandra, the nanny who rescued two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg from the Islamic terrorists that stormed the Chabad House in Mumbai, is expected to arrive in Israel on Monday and be granted entry by the Interior Ministry.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday that her office was working to arrange Sandra's visit to Israel.
Army Radio that the Interior Ministry was considering bestowing Sandra the 'righteous gentile' title, which would allow her to remain in Israel for an extended period of time.
The toddler was reunited with his Israeli grandparents, Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg, on Friday.
Moshe's parents, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were killed in the Chabad House massacre together with at least four others.
Israeli media reported that some of the victims were found wrapped in prayer shawls, in accordance with Jewish burial tradition. The reports speculated that one of the hostages had wrapped the bodies before he was killed.
According to unconfirmed reports attributed to Indian security sources, most of the hostages were found bound and gagged by the commandos, and had been shot long before Indian forces landed on the roof from a helicopter on Thursday night.
Speaking from the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai, Foreign Ministry official Haim Hoshen told the Post on Saturday that there was no doubt the Chabad House was the target of a premeditated and planned assault.
Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
Sandra, the nanny who rescued two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg from the Islamic terrorists that stormed the Chabad House in Mumbai, is expected to arrive in Israel on Monday and be granted entry by the Interior Ministry.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday that her office was working to arrange Sandra's visit to Israel.
Army Radio that the Interior Ministry was considering bestowing Sandra the 'righteous gentile' title, which would allow her to remain in Israel for an extended period of time.
The toddler was reunited with his Israeli grandparents, Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg, on Friday.
Moshe's parents, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were killed in the Chabad House massacre together with at least four others.
Israeli media reported that some of the victims were found wrapped in prayer shawls, in accordance with Jewish burial tradition. The reports speculated that one of the hostages had wrapped the bodies before he was killed.
According to unconfirmed reports attributed to Indian security sources, most of the hostages were found bound and gagged by the commandos, and had been shot long before Indian forces landed on the roof from a helicopter on Thursday night.
Speaking from the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai, Foreign Ministry official Haim Hoshen told the Post on Saturday that there was no doubt the Chabad House was the target of a premeditated and planned assault.
Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.
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