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Chabad to rebuild Mumbai Jewish Center
By MUNEEZA NAQVI,Associated Press Writer AP - Wednesday, December 10
MUMBAI, India - The new head of a devastated Jewish center in Mumbai vowed Tuesday to restore the facility that was devastated when suspected Islamic gunmen rampaged through the Indian city ten days ago. The owners of the iconic Taj Mahal hotel, meanwhile, pledged to reopen with an interfaith ceremony.
Ten days after suspected Islamic gunmen rampaged through Mumbai, talk turned to rebuilding _ with the new head of a devastated Jewish center vowing to restore the facility and the owners of an iconic hotel pledging to reopen with an interfaith ceremony.
Chabad house, the Jewish center, was one of several place captured by suspected Islamic gunmen in the Nov. 26-29 attacks. A commando assault ended the two-day siege of the center, but six people inside the building _ all Jewish foreigners _ were killed.
"We are staying at the same center and will rebuild it even nicer than it was," said Rabbi Dov Goldberg, an Israeli who was sent by the ultra-Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which ran the house.
Among those killed in the attack was American-Israeli Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka.
Goldberg said that while it was very difficult for him to replace Holtzberg, whom he had worked under for a while in India, he was determined to carry out his mission.
"We will try and open it as soon as possible," Goldberg told The Associated Press. "Meanwhile, we will have it in a temporary place. Our activities will not stop even for one second."
The building served as a spiritual oasis for Mumbai's small Jewish community, traveling Jewish backpackers and visiting businessmen, providing a synagogue and kosher food.
Goldberg said the center, which was ravaged by dozens of explosions during the commando assault, would be refurbished and have added security. "We will do all that's necessary for security and for safety," he said.
Goldberg was sent from New York, where the movement has its headquarters, together with his wife and daughter, he said.
The Holtzbergs' 2-year-old son, Moshe, survived the attack after being whisked out the building by his nanny and another worker.
"It is very difficult emotionally, very difficult that Rabbi Holtzberg is not here," said Goldberg. "The victory over terrorism is to show we are not giving up, we are going to go from strength to strength."
Meanwhile, the owners of the Taj Mahal, scene of much of the bloodshed, said they would hold an interfaith prayer ceremony to rededicate the building.
"The spiritual rebirth and rededication of the hotel is an important step in our recovery process," Raymond Bickson, the managing director of Taj Hotels, said in the statement.
The 105-year hotel would reopen with a ceremony performed by Parsi, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist and Jewish religious leaders.
The historic hotel suffered extensive damage during the siege, frequently catching fire as the gunmen and commandos battled it out. The place was riddled with bullets and dozens of grenades were thrown in the building.
Earlier on Tuesday, a fire broke out at the hotel, likely caused by an electrical short circuit, but no additional damage was done, the hotel said in a statement.
Work has already begun, assessing the structure and clearing rubble and damaged furniture, the statement said.
It was not clear how long reconstruction work would take, but the hotel said it hoped "the hotel will shine again in tribute to the people who fell during the terrorist attacks."
___
On the Net:
Chabad Lubavitch: http://www.chabad.org/
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