Chanukah Celebration Bathes Mumbai’s Gateway to India in Light

Mumbai, India’s Jewish community celebrated Chanukah with increased vigor, continuing a tradition begun by the slain directors of the city’s Chabad-Lubavitch center by lighting a towering menorah at the Gateway to India monument.

Rabbi Chanoch and Leah Gechtman, the new directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, organized the public Gateway to India lighting, which saw local Jewish residents proudly dancing under tight security. The site was the point of entry for the gunmen who two years ago, rained terror down on the city and seized the city’s Chabad House. Its directors, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, died in the series of attacks that claimed 166 lives.

The Gechtmans also joined locals at the historic Knesset Eliyahu synagogue and ran holiday programs at a local hall. Each night, they welcomed tourists at their Chabad House, where they served a large holiday meal and handed out individual menorahs.