A Jewish toddler was orphaned Thursday after a terrorist’s bomb claimed the lives of his parents and 13 others at a Marrakech, Morocco, café.

As many as 80 more were injured in the attack, and the dead included many foreigners, said Moroccan authorities. Michal Wizman, the Israeli-born mother of two-year-old David Yosef, and her Moroccan-born husband, Messod Wizman, had travelled to the country from their adopted home of Shanghai, China, to spend the Passover holiday with family and celebrate the boy’s birthday.

According to Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shalom Greenberg, co-director of the Shanghai Jewish Center, Yosef – who was not at the café – was safe with family. King Mohammed VI was reportedly flying the boy and his relatives to Israel for the funeral of his parents.

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“Messod and Michal were very special and beautiful people with the kindest of hearts and purest of souls,” said Greenberg. “They were a sincere young couple with an open home and a smile for everyone.”

The Wizmans, who had lived in Shanghai for four years, were visible members of the small, close-knit Jewish community.

Michal Wizman, a physiotherapist, served as one of the attendants at the Shanghai Jewish Center’s ritual bath and was a member of the local day school’s parents committee, said Greenberg. Her husband regularly attended Torah classes given by Rabbi Shlomo Aouizerat, and “supported our programming and fundraising.”

Michal and David Yosef Wizman attended a pre-Passover party at the boy’s preschool in Shanghai shortly before their ill-fated trip to Morocco.
Michal and David Yosef Wizman attended a pre-Passover party at the boy’s preschool in Shanghai shortly before their ill-fated trip to Morocco.

No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion, which authorities believe resulted from a massive shrapnel bomb at the Argana café overlooking the Djemma el-Fna Square in the heart of Marrakech’s old city.

“I heard a massive blast. The first and second floors of the building were destroyed,” one local woman, who did not want to be identified, told a Reuters reporter. “Some witnesses said they have seen a man carrying a bag entering the cafe before the blast occurred.”

In Shanghai, Greenberg said friends of the Wizmans were finding it difficult to absorb the news.

“They were so much a part of everyone’s lives,” he stated. “After the initial shock and tears, everyone is asking: What can we do in their honor, in their memory?

“May G‑d comfort their families along with the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”