Dear Friends,
Terrorists attacked seven locations in Mumbai
(Bombay).
Rabbi Gabi Holtzberg and his wife Rivkah are the
Chabad emissaries there have been taken hostages in
their Chabad House with other Israelis staying with
them.
Their 2 year old son was rescued by the nanny and
cook. The condition of his parents is unknown but the
nanny reported them as being unconcious.
In this week's parsha, the prophetic words describing
the power of the Jewish people were spoken by our
father Isaac: "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but
the hands are the hands of Esau." The power of the Jew
is in their voice-- the voice of prayer and study of
Torah.
Please pray for Gavriel Noach Ben Freida Bluma and
Rivkah Bas Yehudis (Rabbi & Rebbitzin Holtzberg) and
all other affected by this horror.
Psalms Chapter 20
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David. 2. May the
Lord answer you on the day of distress; may the Name
of the God of Jacob fortify you. 3. May He send your
help from the Sanctuary, and support you from Zion. 4.
May He remember all your offerings, and always accept
favorably your sacrifices. 5. May He grant you your
heart's desire, and fulfill your every counsel. 6. We
will rejoice in your deliverance, and raise our
banners in the name of our God; may the Lord fulfill
all your wishes. 7. Now I know that the Lord has
delivered His anointed one, answering him from His
holy heavens with the mighty saving power of His right
hand. 8. Some [rely] upon chariots and some upon
horses, but we [rely upon and] invoke the Name of the
Lord our God. 9. They bend and fall, but we rise and
stand firm. 10. Lord, deliver us; may the King answer
us on the day we call.
The Jewish community of the world is united. One
Mitzvah done in a part of the world has a powerful
effect on the whole world. In their merit, please
consider doing the following mitzvahs and encourage
others to do the same:
a) Give Tzedaka -- charity
b) For men and boys over 13: Put on Tefillin
c) For women and daughters: Light candles tomorrow
evening at the correct time (18 minutes before sundown
(5:05pm in Houston)
We pray that G-d hear our urgent prayers
Here is a timeline of how the events have unfolded:
LIVE UPDATE 6:30 PM EST: COLlive has confirmed that
the Israeli Foreign Ministry spoke with Chabad Rabbi
Gabi Holtzberg immediately after the attack, but they
have not been heard from since, and the situation is
still not clear.
7:15 PM: CNN/IBN reports gunfire is still going on in
Nariman House (the Chabad House), close to the BP gas
station which was blown up. "Jewish and Israeli
families are trapped."
8:27 PM: Please say Tehillim for Gavriel Noach ben
Freida Bluma, Rivkah bas Yehudis and Moshe Tzvi Ben
Rivkah.
10:30 PM: There have been reports on India TV that
Chabad of Mumbai has been seized By terrorists,
reports of 5 Israeli families trapped inside. Heavily
armed commandos were seen standing by waiting for
orders of the police to storm the house. Gunfire has
been reported as well.
10:50 PM: India-CNN reported that Indian commandos
stormed the Chabad House building in the Colaba area,
reported some "casualties."
11:19 PM: Four terrorist inside the house, one
terrorist confirmed killed.
12:21 AM: After 12 hours in captivity, 3 hostages
escaped the Chabad House building. Footage shows a
woman and her 2 year-old daughter of "foreign
nationality" rushing into an ambulance. They reported
of 5-6 terrorists in the building.
12:42 AM: A woman who is the maid, and Moshe Holtzberg
- child of Chabad Shliach where rescued, also rescued
is the cook lady for Chabad.
1:44 AM: Lubavitch spokesman Zalman Shmotkin said that
"the terrorists commandeered a police vehicle which
allowed them easy access to the area of the Chabad
house and threw a grenade at a gas pump nearby,
blowing it up."
1:59 AM: Holtzberg's mother-in-law Yehudis Rosenberg:
"The nanny said they were alive but unconscious."
2:49 AM: Police at the Chabad House are said to be
adopting a 'wait and watch' approach. Mrs. Holtzberg's
sister Chiki Rosenberg: "We are praying for their
health."
3:56 AM: IBN network reported that "six religious
people are believed to be held in the building." It is
unclear whether this number includes Rabbi Holtzberg
and his wife.
4:30 AM: Mrs. Holtzberg's Israeli-based parents are
heading out to India this afternoon with a ZAKA rescue
team.
5:34 AM: There has been 3 explosions in Mumbai, one of
them at the Nariman House/Chabad, AFP reports.
6:58 AM: "No negotiations or talks have started with
the terrorists," Maharashtra state deputy chief
minister R.R. Patil told reporters.
8:44 AM: Exchange of gunfire have intensified at
Chabad House, 2 of the 6 terrorists inside were gunned
down by police, still unknown the condition and how
many hostages remain inside.
9:45 AM: Tehilim prayers are being recited by tens of
thousands of Jews around the globe in many yeshivas
and schools for the safe resolution on this grave
situation.
10:00 AM: Police just shut off the electricity to the
area of the Chabad house for a possible assault to
rescue the people inside.
10:52 AM: Exchange of fire intensified at
Chabad/Nariman House. Head of local government
Vilasrao Deshmukh said the situation was "grave."
11:33 AM: According to a press release from Indian TV
one of the terrorists made a call from the Chabad
Shliach's cell phone. Claiming to have worked as a
medical representative in a multinational company,
Babar said these attacks were to avenge torture and
injustice. He, however, skirted the query as to which
place he hails from.
India TV repeatedly appealed to both the terrorists to
surrender and release the hostages, but they were
adamant. India TV informed the security agencies in
Delhi and Mumbai as soon as the calls were received
from the terrorists. The details of the cellphones
were obtained from security agencies, who were keeping
track of these conversations.
11:52 AM: It was reported on India TV NDTV: Police say
that there are "no longer any hostages at the Chabad
house." The meaning remains unclear.
12:30 PM: 8-10 hostages have been released from the
Mumbai Chabad Center, Israeli Channel 2 reports.
By AP/FOX News
Twelve hours after gunmen stormed a Jewish center in
Mumbai,Sandra Samuel heard the cries of a small child
outside the room in which she had barricaded herself.
She opened the door, grabbed a 2-year-old old boy and
ran outside with another center worker. They are the
only ones to have emerged from the house run by the
ultra-orthodox Jewish group Chabad Lubavitch.
"I took the child, I just grabbed the baby and ran
out," said Samuel, 44, who has worked as a cook for
the center for the last five years.
The boy, whom she identified as Moshe Holtzberg, the
son of RabbiGavriel Noach Holtzberg, was unharmed -
but his blood-soaked pants spoke of the horrors
inside. Holtzberg is the main representative at Chabad
house.
Relatives of the kidnapped couple gathered in prayer
at a family home in Israel, desperately trying to find
out whether their loved ones were safe.
The family said they knew nothing beyond reports that
the couple's 2-year-old son had been rescued, but four
people in the building were "unconscious."
"We are praying that everything will be OK. We are
still in a state of uncertainty," said Mrs.
Holtzberg's father, Rabbi Shimon Rosenberg. Later
Thursday, family members left for India.
Dozens of Indian commandoes have surrounded the
five-story building, where heavy curtains hung behind
windows broken by gunfire. Outside the center,
thousands of people stood in the narrow alleyways
watching the standoff.
The gunmen stormed the building Wednesday night during
a series of coordinated attacks across this seaside
city that have killed at least 100 people. A group of
suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.
Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, a spokesman for the Lubavitch
movement in New York, said the gunmen seized a police
vehicle, which allowed them access to the area around
the Chabad house, which serves as an educational
center, a synagogue and offers drug prevention
services.
Samuel said she and Zakir Hussein, 22, the center's
caretaker, locked themselves in their first floor room
when they saw a gunman running up the stairs.
"Israelis and Jews, wherever they are, are under
threat," said Ehud Raz, chief security officer at the
Israeli consulate in Mumbai. "They are a target."
Neighbors had tried to protect the house as armed
gunmen seized it Wednesday night. They clashed with
the gunmen and threw rocks at them in an effort to
drive the militants away, said Puran Doshi, a
businessman who lives nearby.
The crowd eventually retreated under fire from the
assailants, who also threw several hand grenades, he
said.
"They shot indiscriminately into the crowd," Doshi
said.
Sanjay Bhasme, 40, who lives in the building behind
Chabad house, said he notified the police after the
shooting began about 9:45 p.m., but they took more
than 30 minutes to arrive - and only after he'd
repeatedly telephoned for help.
"My mind is on pause," said Joel Kurulkar, 24, a
member of Mumbai's small Jewish community who was
waiting outside. "I just want Rabbi to be safe, I just
want Rabbi and his wife to come out."
May we hear good news soon.
With blessing,
Rabbi Shimon Pelman
Chabad Lubavitch of Dominican Republic
calle el recodo#8/ 5A
santo domingo
Chabad House: 809-533-8770
Cellular: 829-341-2770
U.S. Phone Line: 718-880-6900
