Nariman House
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The Nariman House, designated as a
Chabad house A Chabad house is a centre for disseminating traditional Judaism by the Chabad movement. Chabad houses are run by a Chabad Shaliach (emissary), and Shalucha (fem. for emissary) and their family. They are located in cities and on or near college ...
( he, בית חב"ד '),At Chabad in NY, an agonized limbo... and prayer
/ref> is a five-storey landmark in the
Colaba Colaba (; or ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Kolbhat ...
area of
South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Anglo-Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahim and Sion neighbour ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The building was home to a Chabad house, a
Jewish outreach Jewish outreach is a term sometimes used to translate the Hebrew word ''kiruv'' or ''keruv'' (literally, "to draw close" or "in-reach"). Normative Judaism forbids seeking converts to Judaism from other religions, although all denominations do a ...
centre run by Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, who had owned the building since around 2006. The centre had an educational center, a synagogue, offered drug prevention services,BBC: Jewish centre seized in Mumbai
/ref>J'lem Post: Powerful explosion reported at Chabad House in Mumbai
/ref>Tracking the Mumbai Attacks
/ref> and a hostel. The building was attacked during the
November 2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, c ...
and six of its occupants, including Holtzberg and his wife, who was six months pregnant, were killed. Their two-year-old son Moshe survived the attack after being rescued by his Indian nanny,
Sandra Samuel Sandra Samuel (born ) is an Indian nanny who gained international recognition for rescuing a two-year-old Jewish boy named Moshe Holtzberg in Mumbai, India, during the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Samuel was employed as a caretaker at a Jewi ...
, and Zakir Hussain.


Chabad House

The
Chabad house A Chabad house is a centre for disseminating traditional Judaism by the Chabad movement. Chabad houses are run by a Chabad Shaliach (emissary), and Shalucha (fem. for emissary) and their family. They are located in cities and on or near college ...
, located at 5 Hormusji Street,
Colaba Colaba (; or ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Kolbhat ...
, is one of eight
synagogues A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
in MumbaiJTA
and has been described as the epicentre of the Jewish community in the city. It is one of 4,000 such houses in 73 countries, typically run by husband-and-wife couples.
/ref> In 2003, this Chabad House, the first in Mumbai, was opened by Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, newly married and run by them. It catered to Israelis who are on their way to "party hotspots" such as
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
and
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
,Israelis Invade India "Dikla Kadosh" 17 May 2006
in addition to the city's local Jewish community and traveling Jewish businessmen.
/ref> The Holtzbergs also ran a synagogue and taught Torah classes, in addition to the rabbi conducting weddings for local Jewish couples. It is the Chabad headquarters for Mumbai. Gavriel (born 1979, raised in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York) and Rivka (born 1980 in
Afula Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
) Holtzberg came to Mumbai in 2003 after completing a mission in Thailand. Three flights a week bring hundreds of Israeli travelers from Israel to Mumbai and in an interview Holtzberg said he understood the nature of their needs. The young rabbi, who was born in Israel but grew up in Brooklyn, said that they "need relief from the
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, from work, from real life". He said, "they come here to do everything the army didn't allow them to do. Their shoes had to be polished and tied—here they wear sandals. They had to cut their hair—here they grow their hair long." In addition, "Jews from all nationalities stopped there—primarily Israelis, but also those from Singapore and other places. It was almost like a second home to them," said Elijah Jacob, the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a Jewish relief organization based in New York City. Since 1914 the organisation has supported Jewish people living in Israel and throughout the world. The organization i ...
's country manager for India. "Our country director used to say it was like a second home to him because of all of the Jews there on Shabbat." Gavriel also helped with some of the local synagogues. He helped them gather donations, do fund-raising for the synagogue T'feret Israel, in central Mumbai in Jacobs Circle, and helped build a
mikvah Mikveh or mikvah (,  ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purifi ...
there. Also, he was officially a shochet, making chickens available to the local Jewish community, making challah for the community, and the couple was "available for the community," there to answer
Halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
principles of the local community. Chabad officials said they were certain the Mumbai house would reopen, and within hours of news of the Holtzbergs' deaths, young Chabad couples from around the world offered to move to Mumbai to continue their work.


Services

These are the services this Chabad House offered.


2008 Mumbai Attacks

Nariman House was seized and attacked during the
November 2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, c ...
. At around 21:45, on Wednesday, 26 November, two attackers named Babar Imran and Nasir (the oldest in the group of 9 at 28) launched an attack on the centre. Newscasters were calling it the "final assault". The building is near the
Leopold Cafe The Leopold Cafe and Bar is a restaurant and bar on Colaba Causeway, in Colaba area of Mumbai, India, located across from the Colaba Police station. It was the location of one of the 2008 Mumbai attacks as it was one of the first sites attacke ...
, another establishment attacked during the strike. However, a later report alleged that Nariman House was actually the main target of the series of attacks and the rest of the targets were only to amplify the effect. Initially it was reported that six Israeli Jews were being held hostage.Yediot Ahronot: Report: 6 Israelis held hostage in Mumbai
/ref> Later, Chabad spokesman in Israel, Moni Ender, said that there were at least eight Israelis inside the house, including Rabbi
Gavriel Holtzberg Gavriel Noach Holtzberg ( he, גבריאל נח הולצברג; June 9, 1979 – November 26, 2008 (1st of Kislev, 5769) was an Israeli American Orthodox rabbi and the Chabad emissary to Mumbai, India, where he and his wife Rivka ran the Mumbai C ...
and his wife, Rivka.Jpost
/ref>
/ref> The rabbi's two-year-old son Moshe was rescued by his nanny,
Sandra Samuel Sandra Samuel (born ) is an Indian nanny who gained international recognition for rescuing a two-year-old Jewish boy named Moshe Holtzberg in Mumbai, India, during the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Samuel was employed as a caretaker at a Jewi ...
, who had worked for the centre for the previous five years. The hostages were allegedly tortured.Mumbai terror attacks: And then they came for the Jews – Times Online
/ref> Some of the victims had been bound. It was reported that gunmen fired indiscriminately towards those present. Late on 27 November, unnamed Maharashtra government officials said that eight hostages had been released.
/ref> Later,
Israeli Foreign Ministry The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...
spokesman Yigal Palmor said that the eight people seen near Chabad House were not Jewish hostages but local Indians from a home in the same compound. Early on 28 November a large blast was heard at the centre as fighting continued, even though other sources were reporting that the building was under the control of Indian special forces. During the siege U.S. Chabad official Rabbi Levi Shemtov talked with one of the attackers on Holtzberg's cell phone. The
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and other negotiation experts helped guide him through the process, which included around five phone calls.COL Live: Report: U.S. Shaliach Spoke to Terrorist
/ref> Having to find an Urdu speaker to speak with him, they were unable to directly speak to any of the hostages, but Shemtov did say he heard the voice of one woman screaming in English, "please help immediately." Shortly before dawn, Indian special forces began an attack on Nariman House that lasted until after sundown. The operation began when 22 NSG Commandos rappelled out from an Indian Air Force
Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian service. ...
helicopter on the roof of the building. NSG Commandos were in position in the adjacent buildings to provide cover fire to the assault team if needed. Commandos entered the building from the top and two loud blasts were heard followed by heavy gunfire. Most of the operation was broadcast live on television as news footage showed troops
abseiling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to Bela ...
from a helicopter into the building and soldiers on the ground closing in. Initially it was reported that five hostages were killed, but it was later upgraded to six deaths, eight by Saturday morning2 more bodies found at Jewish center in Mumbai
/ref> after two missing Israelis made contact with the Israeli Foreign Ministry. When the raid ended at sundown everyone inside the building was dead,
/ref> including the rabbi and his wife. An Indian commando, Gajendra Singh Bisht, was killed during the operation. According to
ZAKA ZAKA ( he, זק"א, abbreviation for ''Zihuy Korbanot Ason'', , literally: "Disaster Victim Identification") is a series of voluntary community emergency response teams in Israel, each operating in a police district (two in the Central Distr ...
members, at least one hostage, Holtzberg, might have been killed in the crossfire when the commandos moved in; this was rejected by government authorities as stories and irresponsible comments. Some of the other hostages were killed by the attackers on the first night and the following day.JPost , French-language news from Israel, the Middle East & the Jewish World
Fr.jpost.com (13 August 2013). Retrieved 17 August 2013.
Rivka Holtzberg and Yocheved Orpaz had been killed many hours before Nariman House was retaken. A handout provided by Indian police identified the two attackers killed at Nariman House as Nasir (alias Abu Umar) and Babar Imaran.


Victims

The following is a list of the civilians who died:
The New York Times (28 November 2008)


Reactions

*
Chabad-Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch ( he, מרכז לענייני חינוך, lit. Central Organization for Education) is the central educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. It was founded in 1943 by the sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersoh ...
, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch released a statement that read: "Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg made the ultimate sacrifice. As emissaries to Mumbai, Gabi and Rivky gave up the comforts of the West in order to spread Jewish pride in a corner of the world that was a frequent stop for throngs of Israeli tourists. Their Chabad House was popular among the local community, as well as with visiting business people. For five years, they ran a synagogue and Torah classes, and helped people dealing with drug addiction and poverty. Their selfless love will live on with all the people they touched. We will continue the work they started."


Memorial

In 2018 the Nariman House was renamed in ''Nariman Light House''. Ten years after the Mumbai Attacks, a memorial was opened at Nariman House, to commemorate the victims. The first phase was to place a plaque on the building's roof, listing all the names of the victims. In the second phase, the entire floor of the fifth floor, in which Rabbi Gavirel lived with his wife Rivka and son Moshe, was painted white. It should look like it was 10 years before the attack.


See also

* Synagogues in India * Knesset Eliyahoo * Sarah Avraham, who with her family was close friends with the Holtzbergs, and who in the wake of the attack and the killings
converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. " ...
, and immigrated to Israel.


References


External links


Chabad of India: Nariman House
{{authority control 2008 Mumbai attacks Buildings and structures in Mumbai Chabad in Asia Hostels Orthodox Judaism in India Hasidic synagogues Synagogues in Mumbai 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations Attacks on religious buildings and structures in India Islam and antisemitism Chabad houses