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Terrorists Attacked Mumbai One Year Ago Nov. 26
Pakistan-based Group Targeted Jews, Israelis
Donate to the Chabad of Mumbai Relief Fund
Expert sources available for press interviews
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| Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, killed in the terrorist attack at the Mumbai Chabad Jewish Center |
Nov. 26 will mark the one-year anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, in which terrorists laid siege to the city, killing 170 people and wounding more than 300.[1] Ten members of Lashkar-e-Taiba—a Pakistan-based terrorist group—attacked Mumbai for three days, bombing and shooting at two luxury hotels, a train station, a cafe and the city’s Chabad Jewish Center.[2]
The terror ended Nov. 29 when Indian police commandos raided the hotel where the remaining terrorists were holed up.
At the Chabad center, the terrorists killed six people: the center’s director Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg (an American and Israeli citizen); his pregnant wife, Rivka Holtzberg (an Israeli citizen); Rabbi Leibish Teitelbaum (an American citizen); Bentzion Chroman (an American and Israeli citizen); Yocheved Orpaz (an Israeli citizen);[3] and Norma Shvarzblat Rabinovich (a Mexican citizen).[4]
A center staff member escaped the building Nov. 27, 2008 with the Holtzbergs’ son Moshe, who was two at the time of the attack. Sandra Samuel, 45, the cook who pulled the boy out the building, said she saw Rabbi Holtzberg, his wife Rivka and two other guests lying on the floor, apparently “unconscious.”[5] Two years ago the family buried another child who died from Tay-Sachs disease.
On Nov. 12, 2009, the fathers of Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife joined Chabad leaders in Brooklyn to commemorate the completion of a Torah scroll dedicated to the couple and the four other victims slain at the Mumbai Chabad center. Thousands of Chabad emissaries inscribed a letter in the scroll, which will be donated to the Mumbai center.[6] Several U.S. Chabad houses also sponsored “Loaves of Love,” an event for women in honor of the first anniversary of Rivka Holtzberg’s death. Participants baked challah, a traditional Jewish braided bread and distributed them to exemplify Rivka Holtzberg’s generosity.[7]
Although the Pakistani government has arrested seven members of Lashkar-e-Taiba for helping to plot the attacks, in June 2009 a Pakistani court released alleged mastermind Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, citing insufficient evidence,[8] and another court dismissed charges against him again in October.[9] Saeed founded Lashkar-e-Taiba—banned by the Pakistani government months after the 9/11 attacks[10] —and runs an Islamic charity the United Nations considers a front for the terrorist group.[11]
Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving perpetrator, is being tried in an Indian court. He confessed to planning and executing the attacks in July 2009[12] after initially pleading not guilty.[13] Kasab told police that the terrorists were ordered to purposely target Israelis in Mumbai, according to The Times of India[14] to “avenge the atrocities on Palestinians.”[15] Indian forces stormed the Jewish Center on Nov. 28, overtaking the terrorists inside.[16] Kasab revealed, according to Indian sources, that terrorists previously stayed at the Chabad Center in Mumbai before the attacks in order to plan them.[17]
Mumbai's Chabad House is a popular stop for Israeli tourists. The Holtzbergs offered visitors a number of different programs and also provided kosher food. Chabad is a religious movement that serves Jewish communities worldwide through a variety of programs, services and institutions. A total of 4,000 full-time emissary families operate more than 3,300 Chabad institutions around the world.[18]
The Chabad of Mumbai Relief Fund was established to rebuild the Chabad Center and provide lifetime support for Moshe Holtzberg. To donate to the Chabad of Mumbai Relief Fund, click here
During the crisis, The Israel Project worked around the clock to inform the international media about what was happening and help focus world attention on the tragedy and the need to stop terrorism.
Expert sources available for press interviews
Israel
Leah Soibel, Senior Advisor for Research and Communications, The Israel Project
Cyber terrorism expert
Cell: 972-54-807-9041
Laura Kam, Senior Advisor, The Israel Project
Anti-Semitism expert
Tel.: 972-54-806-8613
Dr. Dina Port, Dept. of Jewish History, Tel Aviv University
Anti-Semitism expert
Tel.: 972-3-640-8383
Mark Sofer, Israel’s Ambassador to India
Tel. in New Delhi: 91-11-30414500
Tel. in Mumbai: 91-22-22819993
Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, Researcher, The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Anti-Semitism expert
Tel.: 972-2-561-9281
United States
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Washington, D.C. Chabad
Spoke to terrorist numerous times to try to rescue hostages
Tel.: 202-332-5600
Rabbi Nochum Light, Annapolis, Md. Chabad
Lifelong friend of Rabbi Holtzberg who was killed in Mumbai
Tel.: 443-321-4628
Abe Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League
Contact via Myrna Shinbaum (spokeswoman), Tel.: 212-885-7747
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Founder & President of The Israel Project
Tel: 202-857-6644 or jenniferm@theisraelproject.org
Footnotes:
[1] Rabinowitz, Dorothy, “Dial Mumbai for Murder,” The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 13, 2009, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704576204574530142902187118.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird
[2] Polgreen, Lydia; Mekhennet, Souad, “Militant Network Is Intact Long After Mumbai Siege,” The New York Times, Sept. 29, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/world/asia/30mumbai.html
[3] JPost.com staff; Lappin, Yaakov; and The Associated Press, “PM: Massacre takes us back to worst moments in our history,” The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 30, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/65w9vk
[4] JPost.com staff, “6th Chabad House victim identified a Mexican citizen Norma Shvarzblat Rabinovich,” The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 30, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1227702376273&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[5] “104 killed in Mumbai terror rampage,” The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 26, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1227702333602&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull; Horovitz, David; Wagner, Matthew, “'Eight Israelis held by terrorists in Mumbai Chabad House'” The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 27, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1227702336066&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[6] Lightstone, Mordechai, “Dancing in the Street With Newly Completed Mumbai Torah,” Chabad Lubavitch Headquarters News, Nov. 13, 2009, http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2027600/Dancing-in-the-Street-With-Newly-Completed-Mumbai-Torah.html
[7] “Jewish Calendar,” Chabad Lubavitch of Alexandria-Arlington, http://www.chabadalexandria.org/templates/events.htm, accessed Nov. 16, 2009; “Dallas Doings,” Texas Jewish Post, http://tjpnews.com/?author=1, accessed Nov. 16, 2009; “Loaves of Love,” Chabad of Upper Montgomery County, MD, http://www.ourshul.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/1040239/jewish/Loaves-of-Love.htm, accessed Nov. 16, 2009
[8] Gillani, Waqar; Sengupta, Somini, “Pakistan Court Orders Release of Militant Suspected of Ties to Mumbai Attacks,” The New York Times, June 2, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/world/asia/03lahore.html
[9] Masood, Salman, “Terror Suspect Cleared Again in Pakistan,” The New York Times, Oct. 12, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/world/asia/13lahore.html
[10] “Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba,” BBC News, Dec. 4, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3181925.stm
[11] Masood, Salman, “Terror Suspect Cleared Again in Pakistan,” The New York Times, Oct. 12, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/world/asia/13lahore.html; Khan, M. Ilyas, “Profile: Hafiz Mohammad Saeed,” BBC News, June 2, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6067694.stm
[12] “Ajmal Kasab,” The New York Times, July 20, 2009, http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/ajmal_kasab/index.html
[13] “Mumbai attacker Kasab pleads not guilty,” Xinhua, May 6, 2009, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/06/content_11324380.htm
[14] Ali, S Ahmed, “Mumbai locals helped us, terrorist tells cops,” The Times of India, Nov. 30, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/6aq8g5
[15] Ali, S Ahmed, “Mumbai locals helped us, terrorist tells cops,” The Times of India, Nov. 30, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/6aq8g5
[16] “Report: 5 hostages die in Mumbai Jewish center,” AP, Nov. 28, 2008, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hz0C0SXcxgP0NxzlqGA
_EI57FBkQD94O04200
[17] Ali, S Ahmed, “Mumbai locals helped us, terrorist tells cops,” The Times of India, Nov. 30, 2008, http://tinyurl.com/6aq8g5
[18] “About Chabad,” Web site of Chabad.org, accessed Nov. 27, 2008, from http://www.chabad.org/global/about/article_cdo/aid/36226/jewish/Overview.htm
The Israel Project is an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel. The Israel Project is not related to any government or government agency.
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