In the history of terrorism, there have been deadlier attacks than the one in Mumbai last week. But there was something exceptionally cruel about its methodical planning, its indiscriminate lethality and the vulnerability of its victims.
We stand together with our fellow Jews, with the Indian people and with all of humanity in speechless mourning.
As for our own dead, we remember Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his pregnant wife Rivkah, Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum, Bentzion Chroman, Norma Shvarzblat Rabinovich and Yocheved Orpaz.
And we thank God for the miraculous survival of the Holtzmans’ 2-year-old son, Moshe, rescued by his quick-thinking nanny, Sandra Samuel, a true heroine if ever there was one.
Story after story extolled the Holtzbergs for their warmth and their love of Jews and Judaism. They shared that ardor every day with pilgrims, businessmen and wayfarers who visited the Mumbai Chabad House in search of a kosher meal and a friendly face. The Holtzberg home became the de facto JCC of India’s commercial center.
The savage manner of their death, the forlorn face of little Moshe and the subsequent global outrage over the attack all added to the impact of this story.
No one could have been left unaffected by the loss of these innocents abroad.
What does it mean for the future? Jews and Jewish institutions remain soft targets for terrorism and we as a community must take steps to minimize the risk. Certainly, security measures for Chabad houses in dangerous locales must be improved.
On a brighter note, Mumbai highlighted the increasingly close ties between India and Israel. Different as they may be culturally, both societies boast thriving democracies and burgeoning economies. Trade between the two exceeds several billion dollars, and despite the global economic downturn, that figure will surely rise in the years ahead.
Sadly, the two nations share something else — a history of violence against their citizens by extremists. Both know the sorrow and rage that follow a terrorist attack. We hope as a result of Mumbai, India and Israel will step up their economic and security alliances. India can and should be a powerful international friend to Israel and the Jewish community.
But all that is for later. Today the grief is raw, and we must mourn.
May the courage and love shown by the Holtzbergs, in life and in death, serve as an inspiration for Jews and all people of good will. We will never forget them, the other murdered Jews and all the dead of Mumbai.