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Mumbai Jewish centre reopens six years after attack | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
A Jewish centre in the Indian city of Mumbai has reopened, nearly six years after it was stormed by gunmen who attacked the city. | |
Six Jews were killed at the centre, which was one of several places targeted in the November 2008 attacks. | |
Indian forces regained control of the building after several days and killed two gunmen there. | |
The attacks at a railway station, two hotels and other landmarks claimed 166 lives. Nine gunmen were also killed. | |
Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, 29, and his pregnant wife Rivkah, 28, who ran the Chabad House Jewish cultural centre, were killed in the attack, but the couple's two-year-old son, Moshe, survived. | |
He was found crying next to their bodies by his Indian nanny, who hid in a cupboard during the attack, but emerged to rescue the child after his parents were killed. | He was found crying next to their bodies by his Indian nanny, who hid in a cupboard during the attack, but emerged to rescue the child after his parents were killed. |
She later escorted the boy to Israel to care for him. He has extended family there. | |
'Message for the whole world' | 'Message for the whole world' |
Some 25 rabbis from across Asia gathered on Tuesday at the newly renovated centre and announced plans to turn the top two floors of the five-storey building into a $2.5m (£1.5m) museum. | |
The refurbished cultural centre has a synagogue, offices, guest rooms, a restaurant, a commercial kitchen and security rooms. | |
"We're not moving into a new building - we are returning to our original building and we will be continuing and expanding all the activities that took place here," Rabbi Israel Kozlovsky, new co-director of the centre with his wife, Chaya, told the AFP news agency. | "We're not moving into a new building - we are returning to our original building and we will be continuing and expanding all the activities that took place here," Rabbi Israel Kozlovsky, new co-director of the centre with his wife, Chaya, told the AFP news agency. |
Chintan Sakariya, a local businessman, who witnessed the attack on the centre, said he had "mixed" feelings over its reopening. | |
"They're coming back strongly and we support that. But there's going to be a lot of inconvenience for local residents, a lot of security, a lot of blockades," he said. | |
Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a prominent member of the orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement who helped to rebuild the centre, said its reopening would be "really a message for the whole world". | Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a prominent member of the orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement who helped to rebuild the centre, said its reopening would be "really a message for the whole world". |
"You can overcome challenges, even the most horrific of challenges. You can and must rebuild, and this project serves as a beacon of light and hope that evil will not prevail," he said in a statement. | "You can overcome challenges, even the most horrific of challenges. You can and must rebuild, and this project serves as a beacon of light and hope that evil will not prevail," he said in a statement. |
In 2012, India executed Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 attacks. | In 2012, India executed Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 attacks. |
Qasab was part of a heavily armed and well-drilled, 10-member militant unit which arrived in Mumbai by sea on 26 November 2008. | |
The men split into groups to attack various targets. Their assault on the Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel and the Jewish centre went on for more than two days. | The men split into groups to attack various targets. Their assault on the Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel and the Jewish centre went on for more than two days. |
Pakistan-based banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba was blamed for the attacks, which soured India-Pakistan ties. |
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