Indian nanny’s rescue of Moshe recalled after Mumbai terror attack

Sandra Samuel’s rescue of two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg from Mumbai’s Chabad House during the 2008 terrorist attacks is being recalled as an example of an Indian intervening to save Israeli lives. On November 26, 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba attackers from Pakistan launched coordinated assaults across Mumbai. The attacks lasted nearly 60 hours and killed 166 civilians and security personnel, while more than 300 people were injured.

One target was Nariman House, also known as Chabad House, a Jewish community and outreach centre in Colaba. Six people were killed there, including Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his pregnant wife, Rivka. Their son Moshe survived.

Samuel had worked as a nanny for the Holtzberg family. According to the supplied account, she hid inside the building when the attack began and later went upstairs with another employee, Qazi Zakir Hussain. They found the Holtzbergs dead and Moshe crying beside his parents.

Samuel picked up the child and carried him out while the attackers were still inside. The account credits Samuel and Hussain with getting Moshe out alive. Moshe was the sole survivor of his immediate family from the Chabad House attack.

Samuel left India for Israel with him after the attack. He was raised by his grandparents and other relatives, while Samuel remained associated with him and visited Israel. Israel granted her citizenship in 2010 in recognition of her actions.

The report draws a comparison with an account of Mumbai-born pilot Smit Machchhar, who allegedly fought back after being stabbed by his co-pilot during a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight. The two incidents occurred 18 years apart, but the supplied material says both involved Indians intervening during emergencies involving Israeli passengers or families.