Mumbai massacres
We express our condolences and our indignation at the brutal, tragic, deaths of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivkah in the Chabad House in Mumbai, along with 4 other Jews. At least their baby son Moshe was rescued. Although the Indian anti-terrorist forces stormed the house as well as the two main hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi Trident, they were of course not able to stop the killing by well-armed, well-organized and ruthless Islamist terrorists. Altogether ca. 200 people were killed, mostly Indians, but the terrorists targeted British, Americans, Jews and Israelis.
When did it start, this targeting of Jews and Israelis? Of course, in a larger sense it has been going on since time immemorial, but in my lifetime I remember the hijackings of three planes to Jordan in 1970, the Munich massacre of 1972, the Ma'alot school massacre in 1974, the coastal road bus massacre of 1978, the blowing up of a Swissair plane bound for Tel Aviv in 1980, and so on and so on it goes! But, what is diferent now, is that the Islamist terrorists also target British, Americans and other Westerners, as they did in Mumbai, not only Jews and Israelis. So although we are still being targeted, we are not alone as the targets, and hopefully we are not alone as the protagonists in the war against Islamic terrorism.
Now Mumbai 11/27/08 will take its place with New York 9/11/01, London 7/7, Madrid, Casablanca, Bali, and so on. Clearly this carefully planned and coordinated attack in Mumbai on two hotels, the Jewish Center, a station and a restaurant, was targeted at tourists and travelers, and in a larger sense was an attack on the economy of India. Every year India earns several billion dollars from its tourist industry, and now that will be greatly reduced. In response I plan to go out and buy some Indian goods, just a small gesture. Although I am not a supporter of the Lubavitch movement, I plan to make a contribution to the Chabad organization in memory of the Holtzbergs. How else can we register our outrage?
One of the terrorists' aims was to terrorize, and in this they have succeeded. Clearly this is a warning, that no place in the world is safe from their murderous reach, and in future I hope that all Chabad houses and all Jewish organizations worldwide will put much more emphasis on security. I hope that the Indian and other Governments will provide armed guards at all major tourist centers too. A few armed guards at the entrance of the Taj Mahal Hotel might have delayed the terrorist's progress and allowed more victims to escape.
Another of their aims was to deal a blow at the cooperation between India and Pakistan and at Hindu-Muslim relations within India. Hopefully in neither case will they be successful. Pakistan has officially denied any involvement, but the fact is that they allow Muslim terrorist groups to organize and train on their territory.
Current reports are that there were 10 terrorists, of whom nine are dead and one captured. Frankly I don't believe this, there must have been more terrorists since they attacked at least 5 targets, and it was also reported that there were 3-6 of them in the Taj Hotel alone and three in the Chabad House. The finding of one or more dinghies indicated that they came ashore from a boat, but there were also reports that some of the terrorists were living in Mumbai, either as tourists or workers at the hotel. Also, there are reports that some of them were British from their accents. This would be most useful in terms of traveling around in India. A lot of confusion remains to be clarified, but definitely behind these attacks stands an organization with resources, training and funds. In hope that the Indian Govt. can find that organization and can deal it a severe blow in return.
For contributions to Chabad for the victims of the Mumbai massacre go to: www.mychabad.org
When did it start, this targeting of Jews and Israelis? Of course, in a larger sense it has been going on since time immemorial, but in my lifetime I remember the hijackings of three planes to Jordan in 1970, the Munich massacre of 1972, the Ma'alot school massacre in 1974, the coastal road bus massacre of 1978, the blowing up of a Swissair plane bound for Tel Aviv in 1980, and so on and so on it goes! But, what is diferent now, is that the Islamist terrorists also target British, Americans and other Westerners, as they did in Mumbai, not only Jews and Israelis. So although we are still being targeted, we are not alone as the targets, and hopefully we are not alone as the protagonists in the war against Islamic terrorism.
Now Mumbai 11/27/08 will take its place with New York 9/11/01, London 7/7, Madrid, Casablanca, Bali, and so on. Clearly this carefully planned and coordinated attack in Mumbai on two hotels, the Jewish Center, a station and a restaurant, was targeted at tourists and travelers, and in a larger sense was an attack on the economy of India. Every year India earns several billion dollars from its tourist industry, and now that will be greatly reduced. In response I plan to go out and buy some Indian goods, just a small gesture. Although I am not a supporter of the Lubavitch movement, I plan to make a contribution to the Chabad organization in memory of the Holtzbergs. How else can we register our outrage?
One of the terrorists' aims was to terrorize, and in this they have succeeded. Clearly this is a warning, that no place in the world is safe from their murderous reach, and in future I hope that all Chabad houses and all Jewish organizations worldwide will put much more emphasis on security. I hope that the Indian and other Governments will provide armed guards at all major tourist centers too. A few armed guards at the entrance of the Taj Mahal Hotel might have delayed the terrorist's progress and allowed more victims to escape.
Another of their aims was to deal a blow at the cooperation between India and Pakistan and at Hindu-Muslim relations within India. Hopefully in neither case will they be successful. Pakistan has officially denied any involvement, but the fact is that they allow Muslim terrorist groups to organize and train on their territory.
Current reports are that there were 10 terrorists, of whom nine are dead and one captured. Frankly I don't believe this, there must have been more terrorists since they attacked at least 5 targets, and it was also reported that there were 3-6 of them in the Taj Hotel alone and three in the Chabad House. The finding of one or more dinghies indicated that they came ashore from a boat, but there were also reports that some of the terrorists were living in Mumbai, either as tourists or workers at the hotel. Also, there are reports that some of them were British from their accents. This would be most useful in terms of traveling around in India. A lot of confusion remains to be clarified, but definitely behind these attacks stands an organization with resources, training and funds. In hope that the Indian Govt. can find that organization and can deal it a severe blow in return.
For contributions to Chabad for the victims of the Mumbai massacre go to: www.mychabad.org
posted by Jack Cohen at 6:35 PM
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