But like most two-year-olds would be, all that the golden-haired Moshe is interested in are the candies and lollipops Rabbi Kotlarsky has brought. He trundles around the quaint house, which is overflowing with toys, playing ball with cousin Malki and his grandmother Yehudit. He munches on fried crisps from a foil packet like they were going out of fashion, chews up lollipop instead of sucking on it, and is spoiled for choice when it comes to companions and toys. He has received toys, clothes and chocolates from the US, Europe and even Turkey, and is one of 30-odd cousins in the extended family of the Rosenbergs, which means there is no dearth of playmates.

Moshe’s other big love is watching Hebrew animation and children’s stories on DVD on the desktop computer in a makeshift playroom. One of the animations is the story of a family with two children. Moshe first observes the images from a distance, imitates some of the characters, makes faces at them, and when the father and mother in the animation appear on screen, he walks up to the computer monitor, touches the screen and says “Eema, Abba”, Hebrew for mom and dad. Otherwise, there are toy cars to take apart, wooden blocks to build a building, a toy saxophone to blow and a Hebrew storybook that is slowly getting converted into a scrapbook with his recent pictures that keeps him occupied. And two stuffed dolls, “Buba” and “Molly”.

Afula in Israel, where Moshe now lives, is no stranger to terror. A neatly-laid out new town of nearly 40,000 people, Afula in the Northern District of Israel, like most sites around the country, has Biblical connections. And in modern times, it has been a frequent victim of terror as it is located close to the West Bank.

... contd.