Moshe Holtzberg, 26/11 survivor of Mumbai terror attack recites Psalms during inaugural ceremony of Israel's 25th Knesset
Nov 16, 2022
Tel Aviv [Israel], November 16 : Moshe Holtzberg, 26/11 survivor of the Mumbai terror attack recited a chapter from the Book of Psalms during the inaugural ceremony of Israel's 25th Knesset.
"At the swearing-in ceremony of #Israel's 25th #Knesset, 26/11 survivor Moshe Holtzberg recited Psalm 122 from the Book of Psalms. Moshe lost his parents in the 2008 #Mumbai terror attack. This horrific incident is a shared pain for both our nations Israel-India," tweeted Israel in India.
Holtzberg's parents were killed in the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai when he was 2, and now he is 16 years old.
Moshe lived with his parents at Mumbai's Nariman House, also known as Chabad House. The boy was rescued in a daring move by his nanny, Sandra Samuels, who was hiding in a room downstairs when the terror strike now known as the 26/11 Mumbai attacks unfolded. Six Jews, including Moshe's parents Rabbi Gabriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were killed in Chabad House.
Pictures of Samuels holding the little boy close to her chest after escaping from the place was reported widely.
Notably, on the 14th anniversary of the Mumbai attacks in November, India hosted the two-day anti-terrorism meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The key UNSC meeting, under New Delhi's chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), took place at one of the main sites that saw the dastardly terror attacks.
The 120 members of Israel's 25th Knesset were sworn in on Tuesday, ushering in a right-wing, religious majority, many members of which have vowed to pursue a radical agenda, while providing Israel with long-sought domestic political stability after a cycle of five elections in less than four years.
Benjamin Netanyahu-led bloc holds clear majority but hasn't finished talks to vote in a government alongside new parliament; 25th Knesset features 23 freshmen, dip in female representation, reported Times of Isreal.
Despite prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's vigorous efforts, Israel's 37th government will not be sworn in alongside its lawmakers, as contested ministerial portfolios and disputed policy goals have yet to be reconciled in coalition agreements.
While the talks between Netanyahu and his far-right partner Bezalel Smotrich have come to a head over the assignment of senior ministry posts, the parties are expected to come to terms well before the December 11 deadline for forming a government, reported Times of Israel.
Comprising Netanyahu's right-wing Likud, two ultra-Orthodox parties and the far-right Religious Zionism alliance, the coalition would be the most hawkish government in Israel's 74-year history.
