Life after 26/11: Remember Baby Moshe? A pre-teen boy, he now plays football and enjoys Falafel

Nine years after the terror attack took the lives of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, who ran the Nariman House or Chabad House in Colaba, Gavriel's brother Moshe Holtzberg told DNA said that his nephew, Moshe (same name) should be made a trustee of Nariman House and that the deed should be transferred in his name.

Moshe – or Baby Moshe, as the then-two-years-old toddler came to be known in the public eye – is likely to visit India sometime in the next few months. Moshe also expressed unhappiness over 26/11 mastermind being free despite a reward for him and everyone knowing where he is.

The 11-year-old currently lives with his maternal grandparents in Afula, Israel. "He is doing great with his studies, thank God. He loves to play football and loves a challenge and speaks about coming to India," said Moshe, in emailed answers from the United States.

"When we made peace with them (Chabad), it was agreed on that baby Moshe would be the trustee and the building would be named after his parents. We are waiting for that to happen. But the most important part is that Baby Moshe is Nariman House and Nariman House is Baby Moshe.....We ask that his house - the house of kindness - be given back to him. We thank the current Rabbi Koslovski for being the caretaker till Moshe grows up. But we need to see this guarantee on the deed," he told DNA.

Two years after the tragedy, the Holtzberg family filed embezzlement cases against the Chabad Lubavitch movement, which runs Chabad services across the world. The case was later amicably resolved at the Charity Commission in India.

Expressing happiness that Chabad House was partially open, Moshe added, "We would like to have more transparency and that the family plays more of an active role. For example when the president of Israel has come, the families didn't get notified or invited."

Commenting on the release of Hafiz Saeed, said to be mastermind of the attack, Moshe said, “Hafiz Saeed was just free from his ping pong resort lifestyle in Pakistan. How sad is it that the US that puts $10,000,000 reward for his arrest can't get their hands on him? We all know where he lives. We would like to see ALL countries work on seeking the full Justice for these horrible attacks, from Lashker E Taiba to the banks that financed this attack they all need to pay the price, and most didn't. Nine years later.”

Moshe said that the family had received a lot of love from people and continued to hear good things about his brother and his wife. “It's been 9 years and the amazing stories of Rabbi Gavriel Noach and Rivka keep pouring out about their goodness and kindness. Thousands of kids named after them, so many goodness came out. But we ask for is Justice. They know who they are and we ask our governments to make sure that all who took part in the horrific terror attack from mastermind to financiers to other organisations, to not cover it up, and they all should pay the price,” he said.

However, the Chabad-Lubavitch rejected Moshe's assertions. Rabbi Israel Kozlovsky, Director, Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, said that Moshe's uncle did not represent the interests of his nephew.

In an email, he wrote: "The Chabad-Lubavitch center building, known as Nariman House, was purchased with funds donated to the Chabad of India Trust by generous individuals to serve the organization’s mission and goals. It was never a personal enterprise of a single individual. This matter has already been settled by the courts in Mumbai. Unfortunately, there are individuals who have not come to terms with the ruling and have made it their mission to interfere with our activities. It’s painful to see people use the tragedy for their personal gain."

He added, "We have ensured that 12-year-old Moshe Holtzberg, who lives with his mother’s family in Israel, has all of his needs met through his childhood and into adulthood. We have resolved that if he wishes to continue the selfless work of his parents here in Mumbai, we would be happy to assist him and help him integrate into this important work. His uncle in New York is not a party to the above discussion, not entitled to any of the funds set aside for Moshe, and is not the representative of his nephew’s interests where we are concerned. While there are those who may find the time to accuse us of all sorts of things, thank G-d, Chabad at Nariman House is once again active as it was under Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, of blessed memory. Today, we are in the final stages of completing our planned exhibits, commemorating the terror attack at the Chabad center, which will memorialize all of the victims of the 26/11 attacks. I invite anyone who wishes to see the activities for themselves to come and visit Chabad at Nariman House. And I welcome anyone with legitimate concerns to contact me directly."

Moshe Holtzberg, replying to the Chabad said, "I have no legal guardianship of baby Moshe so they can't accuse me of any wrong doing. Even if Moshe was to be the trustee of Nariman House, since I am not his legal guardian, they cannot accuse me of monetary gains and nor will I gain anything financially. When it came to making peace with them, I was the one that was called to represent my family and we did. If I can speak for my family then, why can I not speak now even if I am not legal guardian of Moshe?"

An email sent to Baby Moshe's grandparents, with whom he lives, asking for their comment on the stand-off between his uncle and the Chabad-Lubavitch remained unanswered.

Sandra Samuel, the nanny of Baby Moshe who sneaked him out during terror attack and lives in Jerusalem said, "I meet him every Sunday for around two hours. He is like any other normal boy. Earlier he was a shy boy and would not talk to anyone. Now that he is grown up, he is more open to new people. But he still gets irritated if there are too many people around. With me, he likes talking about football, basketball, and ping-pong and we sometimes go to have Falafel and coke. He is likely to visit India after his Bar Mitzvah."