By Menachem Cohen, COLlive reporter in Israel
Several hours have passed since a series of coordinated bombs and gun attacks on Wednesday night in Mumbai (Bombay), India’s financial capital, and the local Chabad Shliach is nowhere to be found.
At least 80 people were killed and 250 injured in the attacks, which occurred in seven locations including two luxury hotels and one of the city’s main railway stations.
COLlive has learned that one of the bombs went off near the Chabad House located on 5 Hormusji Street – Nariman House in Mumbai’s Colaba area.
Atempts to reach Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg or his wife Rivka, the directors of the local Chabad, have failed.
Police said shooting was continuing and that the incidents were coordinated terrorist attacks. Gunmen had taken hostages at two hotels, they said.
“We are waiting for them to contact us,” the worried mother-in-law of the Shliach, Mrs. Yehudis Rosenberg told COLlive.com. “It’s possible that the phone system in the country crashed – which is a frequent occurence there.”
NO ISRAELIS INJURED
There has been a wave of bombings in Indian cities in recent months which have left scores of people dead. Most of the attacks have been blamed on Muslim militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists.
Israel’s foreign Ministry notified that one of the explosions was near the local Chabad House, headed by Shliach Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg.
“As far as we know – no Israelis were injured,” a spokesman for the ministry said. “We opened a situation room and are in touch with the staff of our consulate in the city who are trying to reach all Israelis.”
Zeev Soffer, Executive Director of Israeli-based Jewish Emergency Rescue Organization, recommends that shluchim do training in emergency response.
“Today when security is threatened throughout the world, it should be the priority of community leaders to establish a system for emergency response in terror situations such as this,” he told COLlive.
“The first responders in an attack such as this must know how to properly care for the injured and dead victims.”
oi aibeshter genug shoin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hob rachmanus.ad masai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ye, writing things here will really make a difference..show some sopport
Tehilim chof
HAW SICIRIE WAS IT
‘Jewish rabbi, family being held hostage by Mumbai gunmen’ 27 Nov 2008, 1021 hrs IST, AFP MUMBAI: A Jewish rabbi and his family have been taken hostage by gunmen involved in a string of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India’s Jewish Federation told. “The name of the place is Chabad house in South Mumbai. I hear commandos are storming the apartment block, which is a four-storey building. A rabbi is in there with his family,” Indian Jewish Federation chairman Jonathan Solomon said. “I don’t know the number of gunmen in there. I don’t know how many family members are in there,”… Read more »
You can watch live online coverage of the developments in Mumbai (including Nariman House) here ->
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/video_streaming.php
I sympathise with your concern and anguish and as an Indian we live through these terror attacks and pray for everyone’s safety – we think India is still a safe country and hope for a safer future and personal safety of all – I am sure they will be found safe – but the phone lines could be jammed because of the current horror and hopefully you should be able to establish contact.
This is crazy. Where is the world coming to?! we need moshiach now! do a mitzva for all the people injured and in danger
——————————————————————————– Six Israelis possibly among scores of Western hostages in Mumbai November 27, 2008, 6:20 AM (GMT+02:00) Taj Palace, Mumbai, under terrorist attack The Israeli foreign ministry situation room has been unable to reach 5 Israeli families who were staying at the Chabad center in Mubai when al Qaeda gunmen staged coordinated attacks on 11 mostly tourist locations across the city Wednesday, Nov. 26. They left more than 100 dead and another 300 injured. CNN reported the bodies of two adults and a boy were found outside the Chabad center which has been seized by the terrorists who may be… Read more »
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=150904
just saw on cnn live that terriosts are holed up at nariman house the chabad house…at 10:25 est..
i hope shmuel k can see this here is your twitter link http://search.twitter.com/search?q=nariman+house branch out to use other search items
their son is משה צבי בן רבקה is also with them.
oh!! hashem help
UPDATE 7:15 pm EST: 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.”
i am sure that this sluchom have a extra smureh from hashem. may hashem help thay should be safe אמן
According to CNN live a few minutes ago (5:55am Mumbai time) the Nariman House (clearly stating Chabad House) is still under hostage by the terrorists as per the reporter standing outside the Chabad House stating there’s an eary silence as they await for the commandos to storm the building. 25 minutes ago there was an unconfirmed report that “a woman who has been living in the Nariman House for the last 2 years drove away in a taxi” but the reporter kept on repeating that these are all unconfirmed and there are many conflicting reports. 10 places have ben attacked… Read more »
since this is a ongoing millitary operation please say tehillim for the rebbes shluchim there who ar doing their work besimcha and have that zchus
it’s a response to #1, of course.
“You’d better hope it’s only jammed phone lines”.
everyone please say Tehillim! this is not a joke
May hashem help them!!
Did they have security there around the Chabad House? is it anti Semitic?
SOME PEPOLE OUT THERE ARE REALLY SICK AND I KEEP SEEING IT OVER AND OVER WHEN YOU HAD THE RUBASKIN STORY UP I WONT REPEAT THE COMMENTS BUT PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE FAMILY MEMBERS AND USE SOME COMMENT SENCE WHEN YOU SEE A COMMENT LIKE THAT AND DONT POST IT THANK YOU
phone lines are jamed sothey are not able to use phone