'They helped Israel,' says father of Mumbai Chabad victims

By Haaretz Service

The father of Rifka Holtzberg, who was murdered alongside her husband Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg during the attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai last year, said he was fortunate that his children had been sent to India as emissaries "to help the people of Israel."

Addressing a memorial ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Shmuel Rosenberg spoke of "a pain and longing that does not heal" but also of his pride for the Holtzberg couple.

"I was fortunate that my children Rivka and Gabi, were sent as emissaries of the Rebbe Lubavitch to Mumbai to help the people of Israel. To help any Jew in the Diaspora get in touch with their roots, with the people of Israel and the Land of Israel," he said.

The Holtzbergs were killed together when terrorists opened fire on the Mumbai headquarters of Chabad, but their toddler son Moshe was rescued by his Indian nanny Sandra who spirited him away from the beseiged building.

"God has given us a miracle, and has left us a piece of the family, little Moishe, who all of Israel has embraced," Rosenberg said. "Little Moishe is the son of all of the people of Israel and he symbolizes our perseverance."

Rosenberg praised Moshe's nanny Sandra, who rescued him during the attack. "Moshe was saved by a righteous gentile, Sandra, who is living with us now in our house and is a part of our family. We don't have the words to thank her, and we embrace her and have adopted her into our hearts."

The bereaved father vowed that he and his family would continue the work of his children, "in doing good deeds for others."

Nine people altogether were killed in the attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai, some dual citizens but all of them Jews.

173 people were killed in the attacks on India's financial center, and hundreds were wounded.

Chabad centre to stay

MUMBAI: Four weeks after the terror attack on Nariman House in which Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka and seven others were murdered by gunmen, emissaries of the Chabad Lubavitch movement arrived here to reaffirm their commitment to continuing their work in the city.

At a ceremony at the Gateway of India Rabbi Kotlarsky who is Vice Chairman of the International Conference of Chabad Lubavitch Emissaries said, “We are committed to coming back actually, we are not leaving. We are here and we are not leaving.”

With these words he invited Rabbi Rosenberg, the father of Rivka, to light the menorah. Seated in a manually operated crane, the Rabbi lit five of the oil lamps on the towering 15-foot high menorah. The number signified the fifth day of the Jewish festival, Chanukah.

At an earlier ceremony Rabbi Holtzberg, the father of Rabbi Gavriel, had lit a similar menorah installed at the Chabad centre at Nariman House.

Rabbi Kotlarsky described the Chabad centre as a “beacon of light to the whole world. It has been physically destroyed but the spirit lives on and the activities of Gavriel and Rivka will continue. We will not fight terrorism with AK-47s, grenades or guns. We will fight with beacons of light and goodness.” The Rabbi said it was too early to tell if the centre would continue to operate from Nariman house or elsewhere.

Speaking of the spirit of Chanukah the Rabbi said it was the victory of “few over many, weak over strong.” Chanukah, the festival of lights, spans eight days. On the fourth day of Chanukah two-year-old Moshe, the orphaned child of the Holtzbergs, lit a menorah at his maternal grandparents’ home in Afula, Israel. It had been a tradition with his parents to light a menorah during Chanukah at the Gateway of India ever since they came to Mumbai.

Chabad orphan lights Hanukkah candle

Anat Shalev

Father of Rivkah Holtzman, who was killed along with her husband Gavriel in Mumbai, holds menorah-lighting ceremony. Murdered couple's son plays with dreidel under a Chabad flag.

The father of Rivkah Holtzberg, who was killed along with her husband Gavriel during the terror attack on the Chabad house in Mumbai, India last month, held a menorah-lighting ceremony at his Afula home Sunday evening.


Moshe Holtzberg, the murdered couple's 2-year-old son, lit the first Hanukkah candle.


Rabbi Shimon Holzberg spoke to Ynet about the emotional event: "We conducted the ceremony along with friends and members of my congregation, and Moishe lit the first candle, an honor that was usually reserved for his father.


"We recited the prayer 'He who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time', which has a special meaning now in light of our own Hanukkah miracle – that Moishe is here with us today," he said.


Rabbi Holzberg said Moshe played with a dreidel while those on hand ate Sufganiot (Hannukah doughnuts); a Chabad flag retrieved from the house in Mumbai hung in the background.


"When we were in India we managed to recover four Torahs from the Chabad house," he added. "Three were kept in a safe at the Israeli consulate, and we brought the fourth back home with us and it served us tonight. We also brought Gavriel's silver menorah and Rivkah's Shabbat candlesticks."