India Seeks Israeli Help

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An Israeli intelligence source has reported on Saturday that India has sought Isralei help and support in operational and intelligence planning to conduct Commando attacks on three to five Pakistani targets.

According to a report the Indian leaders “showed the outline of this plan to US secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visited New Delhi last week.

Lego-Style Islamic Terrorist Figurine Sparks Outrage

A Lego-style figurine resembling an Islamic terrorist strapped with explosives and made by a small American company has caused an uproar among Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The controversial miniature figure, created by Seattle-based Will Chapman as part of his BrickArms military fighters line, is a bearded militant with a face-covering hood, a tiny toy assault rifle, a little grenade launcher and plastic bombs that can be attached to an explosives belt.

Inside Hero Nanny’s Dash to Save Young Boy During Mumbai Massacre

MUMBAI, India [NYDN] — The little boy’s voice echoed down the staircase from the second floor, steady and insistent.

“Sanda! Sanda! Sanda!” cried Moshe Holtzberg, just three days short of his second birthday. The beloved boy’s parents – former Brooklynites Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah – were unconscious nearby.

Talking With a Terrorist: An Endless Call to India

On the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving I was in my office in New York, preparing notes for a finance class I was set to teach the next week. I grew up in Mumbai, India, and I had heard earlier in the day from my brother about the terrorist attacks in my hometown, but I had thought it was going to be over quickly. Then my nephew called. He told me that the Chabad-Lubavitch movement was looking for Indian language speakers to help them keep track of developing news after terrorists took over the Chabad house in Mumbai. This was the beginning of a nearly 17-hour ordeal that soon had me in prolonged negotiations with the terrorists holed up in the Jewish center, moving toward a deathly denouement.

WSJ Opinion: Mumbai and the Chabad Movement

Perhaps the most telling story I’ve heard about Chabad emissaries is that some will buy burial plots once they arrive at their distant outposts: It is a gesture to the community — and perhaps also to themselves — that they have come to stay.

I first discovered this Hasidic movement, which has captured the world’s attention since the killing of several of its members in Mumbai, after 9/11. The world no longer felt safe and in the months after the attack, my husband and I would flee to the Hamptons, driving every weekend to the East End of Long Island, long after the glamorous summer crowds had gone.

Op-Ed: The Rabbi and the Terrorists

It was obvious to observers around the world that one of the designated targets of the Pakistani Islamist terrorists was the Mumbai Chabad House, the one Jewish center in Mumbai. The 10 Islamic terrorists who came from Pakistan to India chose their targets with great care.

If one assumes that the terrorists primary goals were to destabilize India, weaken growing Indian-Pakistani cooperation in fighting terrorism, and greatly increase Indian-Pakistani tension, hopefully to the point of military war between the two countries, every one of the targets made strategic sense. Slaughtering as many people as possible in Indias major economic center, including as many foreign tourists as possible at Mumbais finest hotels, also made sense.

US Official: India Knew of Plot on Mumbai’s Coast

MUMBAI, India [AP] — India received a warning from the United States before last week’s attacks in Mumbai that militants were plotting a waterborne assault on the city, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday as domestic intelligence officials said they were aware of a Pakistan-based plot.

Mumbai Jewish Community Bids Slain Chabad Emissaries Tearful Farewell, as Bodies Flown Home

MUMBAI, India — In a tearful ceremony, the Jewish community of Mumbai paid their last respects to Chabad House emissaries Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, killed in the terror attack last Wednesday, at the Knesset Eliyahu Synagogue yesterday. Rivka’s parents, Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg were in attendance, along with the Holtzbergs’ 2-year-old son, Moshe, who survived the attack.

Op-Ed: The Mumbai Massacre – A Torah Reflection

The tragedies that unfolded this past week have left us all with sadness, sorrow and mourning; with more questions than answers.

Yet none is greater than the question asked of Hashem by our forefather Avraham in the book of B’reishis. When Hashem informed Avraham of His intent to destroy Sodom for their wicked ways, Avraham asked:

Israeli Consulate’s Mumbai Security Chief Was Arrested En Route to Chabad House Rescue

MUMBAI, India — The security officer at the Israeli consulate in Mumbai was arrested by Indian police as he raced toward the Chabad House last Wednesday after Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg telephoned to say it was under attack.

The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on Sunday confirmed that the officer had been intercepted en route to what he had hoped would be a rescue mission, but stressed that Israel had no complaints with Indian security personnel over the incident.

The List of Winners from the Ten Yad Auction

Grand Prize: M. Cohen
Split the Pot: Nechama Hershkop
Jackpot # 1: Rachel Seeve
Jackpot # 2: Dina Valov
Dollar a Day Raffle: Shoshana Plotkin
Auction Special: Priscilla Sutton

Click Here for the Photo Gallery from the Auction!

List Continues in the Extended Article!

Rabbi Levi Shemtov Spoke to Terrorist

WASHINGTON, DC [AP] — An American rabbi said Sunday that he heard a woman’s desperate cry for help as he spoke to one of the assailants at the Mumbai Jewish center before everyone inside the building was killed.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov said he made contact with the gunman when he called the cellphone of Gavriel Holtzberg, one of the hostages at the Chabad House, after the attack began on Wednesday.

Op-Ed: Their Legacy; Our Destiny

The World Standing Still

For forty six hours, the world stood still. Multitudes of hearts were shattered, countless tears were shed and immeasurable words of Psalms were recited as myriads of anxious Jews around the world tuned in to the evolving events with a profound belief that salvation will imminently sprout from this inconceivable calamity. And yet, after almost two days, the horrific, heart-wrenching news emerged about the Chabad emissaries, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holzberg, fracturing our last remnants of hope. Indeed, “The secret things belong to G-d” . This tragedy is beyond the capacity of our intellect, afar from the human mind.

Nevertheless, its impact remains deep. Jews worldwide were uniquely captivated by it. Anguish and concern conquered Jewish homes and centers around the globe. Wherever one walked, whomever one met, this tragedy rapidly, captured the center stage of our conscious, and swiftly dominated many conversations. But why was this tragedy so perturbing? Which of its component led us to be particularly disturbed by it?

Captured Terrorist Says Chabad House was Targeted

MUMBAI, India — Did some Mumbai locals provide support to the Pakistani terrorists? Azam Amir Kasab, the only Pakistani terrorist nabbed alive, has revealed names and addresses of at least five people from the city who helped the terror operation.

Sources said that help like, providing shelter, taking them around and showing places, passing information on police stations and nakabandhis were given by these locals. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said,”We suspect there could be local assistants but it is subject to verification. It will be very premature to comment on this at this stage as our investigations is going on.”

Israeli Experts Criticize Indian Handling of Terror Attacks, Chabad House Raid

JERUSALEM, Israel — Israeli counterterrorism experts are critical of how Indian security forces handled last week’s terror attacks in Mumbai, especially their raid on the local Chabad center, Nariman House.

While acknowledging that Israel has never experienced a coordinated attack of such scope, the Israelis said the Indians failed to contain the attacks and raided Nariman House too lackadaisically.