Indian nanny granted honorary Israeli citizenship

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JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Indian nanny who saved the young son of the Mumbai Chabad emissaries during a terrorist attack was granted honorary Israeli citizenship.

Sandra Samuel was honored Monday in a ceremony at the Interior Ministry presided over by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who gave Samuel an Israeli identity card.

"I would give my life, heart and soul for Israel," Samuel said during the ceremony.

Samuel received a work permit when she arrived in Israel more than a year-and-a-half ago to care for Moshe Holtzberg, then 2, who lost both of his parents in the Mumbai attacks. Moshe and his Israeli grandparents attended the ceremony.

Chabad emissaries Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg were killed in the Chabad House along with four visitors in the November 2008 attacks on several Mumbai sites, including luxury hotels, a train station and a popular cafe. More than 170 people were killed in the attacks.
 

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