Thursday, January 07, 2010
Chabad House in Mumbai receives threat letter
More than a year after the joint terror attack in Mumbai that targeted the city's Chabad House, fears again are raised for another attack. Ynet learned that the Mumbai Chabad House, which has been under construction since the attack that claimed the lives of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, has received a letter threatening another attack.
The letter, which was included along with a picture of Adolph Hitler, was written by hand: "Israel is dogs. We will strike again – heil, Hitler."
The Chabad House management tried to play down the terror threat after they received instructions from security officials not to publish the threat. A Chabad representative confirmed the letter's content to Ynet and noted that his colleagues notified the Indian authorities as well as security sources in Israel. The letter itself was handed over to Israeli representatives in India.
"The embassy is aware of the incident and is taken the necessary steps," the embassy reported in response.
"As of now, we are trying to clarify the identity of the sender," said the source. "According to what we understood from the security officials, letters like this reach every now and then all kinds of embassies. This still hasn't happened to us, but there is a first time for everything. We will not panic because of this – on the contrary. For us, this is just an incentive to continue working to re-open the Chabad House."
Just before Rosh Hashana, a travel warning was issued to Israelis staying in India to avoid sites with lots of Western tourists and Israelis that are not under armed security and highly visible.
A month later, it was reported that "the terror threat was significantly increased," including against Chabad houses and synagogues throughout India, including Goa. However, just two weeks ago, the Counter-terrorism Bureau of the Prime Minister's Office removed the travel warning issued against Chabad Houses and synagogues in India.
In the November 2008 terror attack that shook the world occurred when 10 terrorists infiltrated into India via the ocean and proceeded to attack 10 different targets, including two luxury hotels and the Chabad House, until the police managed to take control of them after 60 long hours. Some 166 people were killed in the attack, including four Israelis.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3831138,00.html
The letter, which was included along with a picture of Adolph Hitler, was written by hand: "Israel is dogs. We will strike again – heil, Hitler."
The Chabad House management tried to play down the terror threat after they received instructions from security officials not to publish the threat. A Chabad representative confirmed the letter's content to Ynet and noted that his colleagues notified the Indian authorities as well as security sources in Israel. The letter itself was handed over to Israeli representatives in India.
"The embassy is aware of the incident and is taken the necessary steps," the embassy reported in response.
"As of now, we are trying to clarify the identity of the sender," said the source. "According to what we understood from the security officials, letters like this reach every now and then all kinds of embassies. This still hasn't happened to us, but there is a first time for everything. We will not panic because of this – on the contrary. For us, this is just an incentive to continue working to re-open the Chabad House."
Just before Rosh Hashana, a travel warning was issued to Israelis staying in India to avoid sites with lots of Western tourists and Israelis that are not under armed security and highly visible.
A month later, it was reported that "the terror threat was significantly increased," including against Chabad houses and synagogues throughout India, including Goa. However, just two weeks ago, the Counter-terrorism Bureau of the Prime Minister's Office removed the travel warning issued against Chabad Houses and synagogues in India.
In the November 2008 terror attack that shook the world occurred when 10 terrorists infiltrated into India via the ocean and proceeded to attack 10 different targets, including two luxury hotels and the Chabad House, until the police managed to take control of them after 60 long hours. Some 166 people were killed in the attack, including four Israelis.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3831138,00.html
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