Misplaced Pages

#753246

41-457: The Nariman House , designated as a Chabad house ( Hebrew : בית חב"ד , romanized :  Beit Chabad ), is a five-storey landmark in the Colaba area of South Mumbai , Maharashtra , India . The building was home to a Chabad house, a Hasidic Jewish outreach centre run by Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg , who had owned the building since around 2006. The centre had an educational center,

82-517: A mikvah there. Also, he was officially a shochet , making chickens available to the local Jewish community, making challah for the community, and the couple was "available for the community," there to answer Halakhic principles of the local community. Chabad officials said they were certain the Mumbai house would reopen, and within hours of news of the Holtzbergs' deaths, young Chabad couples from around

123-633: A Chabad house, the shaliach (a Chabad rabbi) and shalucha (often his wife ) host programs, activities, and services for the local Jewish community and tourists. Chabad centers exist around the world and serve as Jewish community centers that provide educational and outreach activities for the entire Jewish community regardless of degree of observance. Each center aims to provide a cozy and informal place to learn about and observe Judaism, and provides an atmosphere such that all Jews feel comfortable at Chabad events. Some are in or very near college campuses, others are not. Chabad houses are typically run by

164-528: A different way. We will add light. We will add good deeds. We will make sure that there is not one Jewish man who does not put on tefillin. We will make sure that there is not one Jewish woman who does not light candles," speaking of one of the aims of the Chabad movement . Kotlarsky also said that the Chabad House would be rebuilt, and that it would be named after the Holtzbergs. Kotlarsky also aimed his message at

205-587: A rabbi and his wife—often with the assistance of unmarried young men or women affiliated with Chanad, or, in the case of more developed Chabad houses, with the assistance of a second or even third married couple. Some typical Chabad house programs include: Hospital and prison visits; holiday activities such as "Sukkah Mobiles," Chanukah and Purim gift baskets and kits, holiday rallies and festivals; counseling and social Services; Jewish studies classes, lectures and seminars; Judaica services; regular newspapers and kosher meals. Classes may also be provided for non-Jews in

246-473: A senseless act of hatred. In the face of this terror we must not bow to fear. We must respond by spreading our own message of tolerance and respect for people of other backgrounds and other beliefs.” Federal Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull and U.S. Consul-General Judith Fergin also spoke at the memorial service. A representative from the Indian Consulate was also present. Thousands of people attended

287-534: A special visa offering immigration status. Samuel has stated she will continue to care for Moshe for as long as necessary. The government of Israel awarded Samuel with the title of Righteous among the Nations , the highest award given to non-jews. A video of Moshe crying at the funeral service for his parents and crying "Imma, Imma," which means "Mommy, Mommy" in Hebrew was widely published. In 2018, ten years after

328-461: A synagogue and Torah classes, and helped people dealing with drug addiction and poverty. Their selfless love will live on with all the people they touched. We will continue the work they started." In 2018 the Nariman House was renamed Nariman Light House . Ten years after the Mumbai attacks, a memorial was opened at Nariman House, to commemorate the victims. The first phase was to place a plaque on

369-451: A synagogue, offered drug prevention services, and a hostel. The building was attacked during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and six of its occupants, including Holtzberg and his wife, who was six months pregnant, were killed. Their two-year-old son Moshe survived the attack after being rescued by his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel . The Chabad house , located at 5 Hormusji Street, Colaba ,

410-711: A week bring hundreds of Israeli travelers from Israel to Mumbai; in an interview, Holtzberg said he understood the nature of their needs. Born in Israel but having grown up in Brooklyn, Holtzberg said that the travelers "[needed] relief from the army , from work, from real life". He said, "they come here to do everything the army didn't allow them to do. Their shoes had to be polished and tied—here they wear sandals. They had to cut their hair—here they grow their hair long." In addition, "Jews from all nationalities stopped there—primarily Israelis, but also those from Singapore and other places. It

451-454: Is a list of the civilians who died: "Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg made the ultimate sacrifice. As emissaries to Mumbai, Gabi and Rivky gave up the comforts of the West in order to spread Jewish pride in a corner of the world that was a frequent stop for throngs of Israeli tourists. Their Chabad House was popular among the local community, as well as with visiting business people. For five years, they ran

SECTION 10

#1732891754754

492-471: Is near the Leopold Cafe , another establishment attacked during the strike. However, a later report alleged that Nariman House was actually the main target of the series of attacks and the rest of the targets were only to amplify the effect. Initially it was reported that six Israeli Jews were being held hostage. Later, Chabad spokesman in Israel, Moni Ender, said that there were at least eight Israelis inside

533-494: Is one of eight synagogues in Mumbai and has been described as the epicentre of the Jewish community in the city. It is one of 4,000 such houses in 73 countries, typically run by husband-and-wife couples. In 2003, this Chabad House, the first in Mumbai, was opened by Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, newly married and run by them. It catered to Israelis who were traveling to "party hotspots" such as Goa and Rajasthan , in addition to

574-682: The Mishnah . During his high school years, Holtzberg was known for his knowledge of the Talmud . He traveled to Jerusalem for an international Talmudic competition, where he came in second. He studied at yeshivas in New York and Argentina , and as a rabbinical student served communities in Thailand and China under the Summer Rabbinical Visitation Program run by Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch ,

615-621: The Noahide laws , as per rabbi Schneerson's Noahide campaign . Chabad houses at universities—known as Chabad on Campus —often provide housing for students, peer counseling and drug prevention centers, student activity offices, a synagogue , a publications center, library, kosher dining hall, student lounges, and a computer area. These facilities provide a social environment for young Jewish men and women on campus. Gavriel Holtzberg Gavriel Noach Holtzberg ( Hebrew : גבריאל נח הולצברג ; June 9, 1979 – November 26, 2008 (1st of Kislev, 5769)

656-516: The army didn’t allow them to do. Their shoes had to be polished and tied – here they wear sandals. They had to cut their hair – here they grow their hair long." There are between 4,500 and 5,000 Indian Jews in Mumbai. Holtzberg was a religious leader for that community, leading Friday night services at the Knesset Eliyahoo synagogue, also performing marriages for them, acting as the shochet (the kosher slaughtering of animals) and supplying

697-618: The Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba . Holtzberg was born in Israel to Nachman and Freida Holtzberg. He and his family moved to the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn , New York , when he was 9 years old. He had eight siblings. During his years in elementary school, he memorised the entire Second Order of the Mishnah , Moed verbatim and was a two-time champion in a competition of memorizing

738-448: The Torah to local Jews and tourists and provided their mikveh to be used by local Jews, and made challah available to them. On 26 November 2008, Nariman House was attacked during the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the Holtzbergs were taken hostage. Sandra Samuel , a maid at the house and the nanny for their 2-year-old son, Moshe, managed to escape with the boy. As the siege began, Samuel locked

779-492: The age of 4 in December 2008, one month after his parents' murder. Their third son, Moshe, was born healthy and lived with them in Mumbai. They lived together on the fifth floor of the Chabad House. It was revealed by her father during her funeral that Rivka was five months pregnant with her fourth child at the time she was slain. After Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg married, they moved to Mumbai to serve as Chabad emissaries and open

820-538: The building's roof, listing all the names of the victims. In the second phase, the entire flooring of the fifth floor, in which Rabbi Gavriel lived with his wife Rivka and son Moshe, was painted white so it should look like it was 10 years before the attack. Chabad house Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the Chabad rebbe ) sent Rabbi Shlomo Cunin to Los Angeles in 1965 to lay the groundwork for Chabad's West Coast activities. The first Chabad house for university students

861-524: The city's local Jewish community and traveling Jewish businessmen. The Holtzbergs also ran a synagogue and taught Torah classes, in addition to the rabbi conducting weddings for local Jewish couples. It is the Chabad headquarters for Mumbai. Gavriel (born 1979, raised in Brooklyn , New York) and Rivka (born 1980 in Afula , Israel ) Holtzberg came to Mumbai in 2003 after completing a mission in Thailand. Three flights

SECTION 20

#1732891754754

902-417: The community with kosher meat, answering halakhic principles for them, such as what is to be done in the rites and customs of Judaism, as well as being a trained Mohel (performing the circumcision or " bris " of Jewish babies). In addition to helping gather donations and do fund-raising for T'feret Israel and build an additional mikvah for the synagogue, he and his wife also taught Jewish studies and

943-497: The couple's surviving son, Moshe, saying "You don't have a mother who will hug you. You are the child of all of Israel." In Toronto, Ontario , Canada, a memorial service was held for Gavriel and his wife at a Chabad synagogue, where almost 1,500 people attended. The Holtzbergs' son Moshe, who survived the attack, and his Indian nanny Sandra Samuel , subsequently moved to Israel where Moshe's grandparents live. The Israeli Government under Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni awarded Samuel

984-472: The crossfire when the commandos moved in; this was rejected by government authorities as stories and irresponsible comments. Some of the other hostages were killed by the attackers on the first night and the following day. Rivka Holtzberg and Yocheved Orpaz had been killed many hours before Nariman House was retaken. A handout provided by Indian police identified the two attackers killed at Nariman House as Nasir (alias Abu Umar) and Babar Imaran. The following

1025-434: The doors and hid in a room. She heard Rivka screaming "Sandra, Sandra, help, Sandra." The gunmen reportedly went door-to-door, searching for targets, so Samuel unlocked her door, but they did not find her. She then ran upstairs to find the Holtzbergs shot and lying on the ground with their son crying over them, so she picked him up and ran to the exit. Two days after the siege of the house began, Indian security forces seized

1066-536: The educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch . Holtzberg had long desired to become a Chabad emissary. He spent time as a student in the Chabad house in Bangkok , and helped open a Chabad house in south Thailand. His future rebbetzin , Rivka Holtzberg née Rosenberg, was born in Israel to Rabbi Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg, and was raised in Afula . She studied at a Bais Rivka seminary in Kfar Chabad , Israel. Her uncle

1107-491: The eight people seen near Chabad House were not Jewish hostages but local Indians from a home in the same compound. Early on 28 November a large blast was heard at the centre as fighting continued, even though other sources were reporting that the building was under the control of Indian special forces. During the siege U.S. Chabad official Rabbi Levi Shemtov talked with one of the attackers on Holtzberg's cell phone. The FBI and other negotiation experts helped guide him through

1148-580: The first Chabad House in Mumbai. Under his leadership, the Chabad organisation acquired Nariman House . He ran the synagogue in addition to him and his wife being directors of the Mumbai Chabad headquarters. He installed a kosher kitchen and a mikvah at Nariman House, and taught the Torah , offered drug prevention services and ran a hostel there. They led Shabbat meals every week at Nariman House with between 50 and 60 people and 30–40 people per night during

1189-579: The funeral of Holtzberg and his wife, with eulogies delivered in the town of Kfar Chabad followed by a procession to Jerusalem's ancient Mount of Olives cemetery, where the couple was buried. Among those who attended were the two Chief Rabbis of Israel, President Shimon Peres , former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak , former Prime Minister and Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu , several Shas ministers and MKs, government ministers , Knesset members , Chabad emissaries from around

1230-624: The house and found the Holtzbergs and six others dead. It was concluded that the Holtzberg's wife had been killed many hours before, and several of the bodies were covered in tallit , including Rivka Holtzberg's, leading witnesses to speculate that the rabbi managed to cover the bodies before he was killed. In December 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stated that Holtzberg and his wife had “devoted their lives to acts of goodness and kindness and compassion for others ... but they lost their lives in

1271-525: The house, including Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka. The rabbi's two-year-old son Moshe was rescued by his nanny, Sandra Samuel , who had worked for the centre for the previous five years. The hostages were allegedly tortured. Some of the victims had been bound. It was reported that gunmen fired indiscriminately towards those present. Late on 27 November, unnamed Maharashtra government officials said that eight hostages had been released. Later, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that

Nariman House - Misplaced Pages Continue

1312-528: The process, which included around five phone calls. Having to find an Urdu speaker to speak with him, they were unable to directly speak to any of the hostages, but Shemtov did say he heard the voice of one woman screaming in English, "please help immediately." Shortly before dawn, Indian special forces began an attack on Nariman House that lasted until after sundown. The operation began when 22 NSG Commandos rappelled out from an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter on

1353-422: The roof of the building. NSG Commandos were in position in the adjacent buildings to provide cover fire to the assault team if needed. Commandos entered the building from the top and two loud blasts were heard followed by heavy gunfire. Most of the operation was broadcast live on television as news footage showed troops abseiling from a helicopter into the building and soldiers on the ground closing in. Initially it

1394-550: The week, where they hosted Jews from all walks of life, including notable figures such as Sir Martin Gilbert and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin , to humanitarian workers, business people and Israeli backpackers visiting India. In an article published in 2006, Holtzberg said he understood the nature of the Israeli traveler's needs saying they "need relief" from the army, from work, from real life. He added that "they come here to do everything

1435-432: The world offered to move to Mumbai to continue their work. The Chabad House offered a broad range of services to the community. Nariman House was seized and attacked during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks . At around 21:45, on Wednesday, 26 November, two attackers named Babar Imran and Nasir (the oldest in the group of 9 at 28) launched an attack on the centre. Newscasters were calling it the "final assault". The building

1476-514: The world, the American and Indian ambassadors to Israel, and Rabbi Abraham Shemtov , head of Agudas Hassidei Chabad International , the movement's umbrella organization. Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky vice chairman of Chabad's educational arm, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch , from New York, eulogized the couple at the funeral, saying "I vow that we will avenge the deaths of Gabi and Rivki. But not with AK-47s, not with grenades and tanks. We will take revenge in

1517-432: Was Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman , Chief Rabbi of Migdal Ha'Emek , Israel. The Holtzbergs married in 2002. Their firstborn son, Menachem Mendel, was born a year later, afflicted with Tay–Sachs disease . He died of this disease at the age of 3. Their second son, DovBer, was born with the same ailment and was institutionalized in a pediatric long-term care facility in Israel under the care of his grandparents. He died at

1558-621: Was almost like a second home to them," said Elijah Jacob, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 's country manager for India. "Our country director used to say it was like a second home to him because of all of the Jews there on Shabbat." Holtzberg also helped some of the local synagogues to solicit for donations, do fundraising for the T'feret Israel Synagogue, in central Mumbai in Jacobs Circle, and helped build

1599-537: Was an Israeli American Orthodox rabbi and the Chabad emissary to Mumbai , India, where he and his wife Rivka ran the Mumbai Chabad House . He was also a religious leader and community builder for the local Jewish Indian community, and led the Friday-night Shabbat services at the Knesset Eliyahoo synagogue. Holtzberg and his wife were murdered during the 2008 Mumbai attacks perpetrated by

1640-602: Was opened in March 1969 at the University of California, Los Angeles by Cunin. In 1972, Cunin opened additional Chabad houses at the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, San Diego , and, by 2003, had overseen the establishment of nearly 100 Chabad houses in California . Chabad houses are independently funded by the local community (apart from those in tourist destinations or Asian business hubs). In

1681-522: Was reported that five hostages were killed, but it was later upgraded to six deaths, eight by Saturday morning after two missing Israelis made contact with the Israeli Foreign Ministry. When the raid ended at sundown everyone inside the building was dead, including the rabbi and his wife. An Indian commando, Gajender Singh Bisht , was killed during the operation. According to ZAKA members, at least one hostage, Holtzberg, might have been killed in

Nariman House - Misplaced Pages Continue

#753246