Ahead of the second anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, the grandparents of terror victim baby Moshe are in Mumbai for a court hearing in connection with a dispute over rebuilding rights of the Chabad House, one of the sites which stands as a mute testimony to the Mumbai siege.
The paternal grandparents of Moshe, Rabbi Nachman Holtzberg and Freida and parents of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, killed during the 26/11 attacks at the Jewish centre are here for the court case as well as a small ceremony where they will pay homage to the victims," an official representing the family told PTI.
The couple arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday night for the scheduled hearing on Thursday. Currently, Chabad House (also known as Nariman House), is in the possession of a Receiver of the Bombay High Court following a dispute between two factions of the Jewish community. The dispute is between Gavriel's parents-- Nachman and Freida Holtzberg-- and Rabbi Yosef Kantor, over the rebuilding rights of the property.
Chabad House is run by a New York-based Orthodox Jewish organisation called Chabad Lubavitch. After the dastardly attacks, the Lubavitch movement named Kantor as its official, is responsible for rebuilding and raising funds for the Jewish Centre. But both the maternal (Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg) and paternal (Rabbi Nachman and Frieda Holtzberg) grandparents of Moshe, who are also actively involved in reviving the Chabad House, allege that they have not received any funds so far. "Officials from Chabad Lubavitch say that they have raised crores of rupees to repair the Chabad House but nothing was initiated for two nearly years. Also, they are not ready to provide any accounts," the official said.
The principal donor behind the renovation is Samuel Nitka, president of the GRH Energy group, the official claimed. On November 26, 2008, two Pakistani terrorists entered the the Jewish centre and killed six of its occupants, including Rabbi and his pregnant wife, Rivka. Their son Moshe, who was then two-year-old, survived the attack after being rescued by Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel.