Peninsula Chabad Honors Mumbai Dead

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KCBS)  -- Indians garbed in brightly colored saris sat beside Hasidic Jews as the the Peninsula Jewish community honored the many victims of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last week.

The service at the Chabad Synagogue in Palo Alto began with a movie tribute to Rabbi Holzberg and his wife Rivka, who ran a traditional Jewish center in Mumbai. It was the first time Jews in India have been targeted by terrorists.

  KCBS' Margie Shafer reports

Through prayers and candles, the community tried to look beyond the loss of life towards some positive meaning.

“The Mumbai Chabad Center’s going to be rebuilt bigger and better than it was before,” said Rabbi Yosef Levin. “Rather than somehow slow us down, our response is going to be to work harder.”

The Chabad movement reaches out to thousands of Orthodox Jews through centers around the world, and Levin said the deaths in Mumbai have created resolve. “We’re talking about bringing more light to the world,” he said. “We’re going to build more Chabad centers in their memory.”

Ashwini Surpur of Cupertino sat in the back row in solidarity for an attack that had seared India’s collective imagination.

“This has created ripples like no tomorrow and people are not going to forget this anytime soon,” she said.

Others expressed frustration that the Indian government had not acted quickly or decisively enough in the wake of attacks that have strained already troubled relationships with neighboring Pakistan.

(jro)