Israel to grant citizenship to Indian woman who saved Chabad rabbi's son in Mumbai attack
Rabbi Gavriel Holztberg and his wife Rivka, the Chabad movement's envoys to Mumbai, were among six people killed when Islamist terrorists attacked the movement's headquarters.
By News Agencies Tags: Jewish World Chabad Mumbai Israel newsIsrael will grant citizenship to the Indian woman who saved the life of a 2-year-old boy whose parents were murdered in the terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai in November 2008.
Rabbi Gavriel Holztberg and his wife Rivka, the Chabad movement's envoys to Mumbai, were among six people killed when Islamist terrorists attacked the movement's headquarters. After a two-day standoff, four Israelis, an American Jew and a Mexican Jewish woman were dead.
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Sandra Samuel, the Indian woman who saved Moshe Holtzberg in the Chabad Mumbai attack |
| Photo by: CNN |
Their son Moshe was saved because his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, managed to orchestrate their escape from the besieged house.
Samuel came back to Israel with Moshe following the attack, where she continued to care for him at his grandparents' home in Afula.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai called the decision to grant Samuel citizenship a humanitarian step that must be taken for somebody who saves a Jewish life.
During the siege of the Chabad House, Samuel had locked herself in a laundry room when she heard Moshe's mother Rivka screaming, 'Sandra help!' "Then the screaming stopped, and it was quiet," said Robert Katz, a New York-based fund-raiser for an Israeli orphanage founded by the boy's family.
She cracked open the door of her hiding place and saw a deserted staircase. She ran up one flight and saw the rabbi and his wife, covered in blood and shot to death. She snatched the crying boy, bolted down the stairs and out of the building.
"She's been there with him throughout," Katz said.
Though Samuel had no passport or papers, Moshe's grand-uncle, Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman, helped arrange for her to get a visa to Israel.
The terrorists struck ten different locations across Mumbai, in attacks that left 166 people dead and hundreds wounded, while many were taken hostage.
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Isn't that so heartwarming? What a brave woman she deserves a medal. Indians have been good to us since the Diaspora. In America they are very kind and smart immigrants as well. Their food is horrible though.
She deserved. Now Arabs are ranting instead of a formal apology to Moshe for being a part of that world which supports terrorism.
I hope the state will take care of her needs like a permanent pension, she deserves it.
Good! Choke on this peace.Too big to swallow, huh?
Wonderful woman, showing best side of humanity. Celebrate humanity, and not the divisions in it.
Only born-again christians (baptists) can save a life of another religion like the brave woman
What about Abbas and Dahlan, are we not granting them citizenship?
Bravo Israel. Mme Samuel is a very brave woman. Condolences to those who were slaughtered. RIP
The whole world needs more heros like this and it's nice she is moving to Israel and hope she will be happy here.
I am sure, she didnt save life not as they were Israelites, but they were human... You have to learn from her...
What an irony. Only a Shas-governed ministry can explain that.
Leave this matter to Israel we don't tell you what to do either.
May she be blessed!
As kuch as this is good news maybe Israel should consider giving the native people of Palestine the right to do the same
very good noble gesture by israel
It's about time Israel started to use their Jewish ingeniousness and compassion to show the world they are not buffoons. But like most democracies they are corrupt, and do not answer to the public anymore. Remember Entebee, remember Abba Eban's speeches?
and Welcome to Israel!!
SANDRA SAMUEL BELONGS FOR SURE TO THE "MANASHA PEOPLE",JEWS THAT LIVE IN INDIA FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS...MANY RETURNED TO ISRAEL, BUT NOT ENOUGH...THE STATE SHOULD BRING AS MANY AS POSSIBLE.ISRAEL NEED EVERY JEWISH GOOD SOUL
Maybe you could tell the illegal foreign workers that, then the'd also get a chance at citizenship before shipping them out.
Maybe you could tell the illegal foreign workers that, then the'd also get a chance at citizenship before shipping them out.
She is a brave woman who deserves the honor.
Relieved to know that we are doing the right thing for this wonderful person.
Sandra Samuel, who saved the the life of Moshe, , is a born-again Christian woman . She shows the love of Christianity to humanity
A born again christian doesn’t make you a good person, a follower of the true teachings of Jesus Christ does. There is a big difference between the two; the born agains are normally the followers of pual's school of thought, while the true followers of Jesus Christ follow his teachings and the laws of the Prophets who came before him.
A correct and wonderful decision.
Occupation never works.
Many countries refused to accept them, others let them drown, others jailed them, none of the boat people were looking to destroy another country. How many did your side accept? There are 1.2 million Israeli Arab citizens? Ignorant slogans only work for the ignorant.
Oh I'm sure life will be great for her in Israel. Why TF is this place so weird? Giving citizenship to her because she saved a Jew? The sad thing is, if you gave citizenship to every American Jew who saved a Palestinian life as activists in the West Bank, you'd probably have a positive year for immigration by Anglos.
BRAVO! Saved the child with extrem danger to her own life. A true fellow human being!
Why citizenship? Permanent resident status and all the rights this brings would be more than OK for what she did. She has to ask for citizenship after, let's say, 5 years living in the country. Why can't Israel be a normal country? This mad eme rememer the palestinian authority giving away citizenships...
"Interior Minister Eli Yishai called the decision to grant Samuel citizenship a humanitarian step that must be taken for somebody who saves a Jewish life." What if she had "only" saved the life of the grandchild of an Israeli Christian or Moslem? Would she then not have been entitled to Israeli citizenship? Of course we all know the answer to that. Eli Yishai made it clear it must be a Jewish person.
Your application for citizenship has been rejected. Israel doesn't grant citizenship to the ignorant.
What would be the unswer to that? By the way, did you voice your outrage over this despicable act of violence in Mumbay? Or, we all know unswer to that,: they came to kill JEWS( it is not terrorism), wery good, they deservbed it for being jews and alive.
the least we can do for the wonderful woman.
israel continues to deport migrant worker after migrant worker and refuses to grant citizenship to millions of arabs in "israel". i guess the path to citizenship is A) convert or B) save a jew. take notes, asylum seekers.
United states, Canada, England, France....... deport illigal migrants by the 1000s, But will grant a citisenship to anyone who brings enough money . I don't see you foming at the corners of your mouth becouse of this. And show me one Arab that want's Israeli citizenship and didn't get it. You know you have to pledge your allegiance to the country you become citizen of. and not wan't to destroy it and liberate muslim world from jewish cancer. THINK GENIUS.
Israeli Arabs are citizens. They even serve in the Knesset and hold government posts.