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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