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Brooklyn Chabad Rabbi and Wife Among Hostages Held In Mumbai

By Howard M. Friedman

One of the ten sites attacked by terrorists in Mumbai (India) yesterday and today is Nariman House which houses Mumbai's Chabad Lubavitch headquarters. (Scotsman). BBC News reports that Chabad's main emissary in the city, Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, is being held hostage in the building which is now surrounded by police. NY1 News says Holtzberg is from Brooklyn, NY. WLS-TV Chicago says that Rabbi Holtzberg is a U.S. citizen and his wife is an Israeli. (Photo of rabbi and his wife.) The New York Times on Thursday posted an article describing the Chabad House operated by the Holtzbergs as a magnet for Jewish tourists and business men visiting Mumbai, as well as for Iraqi and Indian Jews living there. The article goes on to describe the reaction to Mumbai events in Crown Heights, Brooklyn where Chabad is headquartered and where Rabbi Holtzberg grew up.

Arutz Sheva reports that Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife are unconscious in Nariman House, as are several other Israelis held in the building. The Guardian reports that Holtzberg's 2-year old son was gotten out of the building by a woman who works as a cook at the Chabad center. The Jerusalem Post reports that 8 people were freed from Chabad House on Thursday evening (Indian time) in a commando operation. The identity of those freed is unclear.

Despite reports in the U.S. and British media that the terrorists were looking primarily for those with U.S. and British passports, Haaretz reports 20 to 30 Israelis are among the dozens of hostages held at the Trident-Oberoi hotel. IANS reported Thursday afternoon (U.S. time) that Israel is preparing to send paramedic and rescue personnel to Mumbai to help in the release of Rabbi Holtzberg and seven others being held at the Nariman House Chabad headquarters. On Thursday night (US time), BBC News reported that Indian security forces had begun an attack on Nariman House to capture or kill the gunmen inside and free the hostages. [Ths posting is being updated on a rolling basis. Last updated 9:55 pm EST, 11/27]

Full post as published by Religion Clause on November 27, 2008 (boomark / email).