MUMBAI ATTACKS
By: Eevry Goren
On the night of November 26th, 2008 (and continuing through the 28th) a series of events took place in Mumbai, India. A terrorist group (whose name is yet unknown, but is believed to be from Pakistan,) launched a series of well planned attacks in India’s “financial capital”, formerly known as Bombay. Several sites were attacked including the Taj Mahal hotel, the Oberoi hotel, and an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue known as the Chabad- Lubavitch Center. Indians, Americans, British and Israelis were targeted and attacked. As of the writing of this essay, the death toll is 195 with 295 injured. Police, military and Special Forces are still trying to contain the situation. The area is being searched for any remaining terrorists, explosives and booby traps. Currently a number of gunmen are dead; however it is believed that as many as ten terrorists took part in this attack. First responders were slow to arrive. Evacuation of the injured was also slow, which caused unnecessary deaths among the more seriously wounded. The reason for this slow response had to do with both the structural problems in India’s road system and the lack of adequate emergency planning and training. The terrorists were heavily armed and arrived by boat with a clear mission. Indian Commandos battled the terrorists for around 10 hours. They could not go very far into any of the buildings due to the fact that they were continuously pushed back by heavy gunfire. There was also the constant fear for the lives of the hostages and the presence of booby-traps. Many believe that they chose targets which symbolize India’s growing financial strength and their connection to western civilization. Jews, Americans, and British were targeted due to them being a part of these symbols. Jews may have also been targeted because of religious reasons as one may conclude from the following. Chabad is a Jewish outreach organization, providing meals, comfort and spiritual advice to many. The Jewish center was attacked in a particularly brutal way; killing the women and children first, with evidence of torture and possibly rape. Some of the dead include Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his wife Rifka and two of their children, along with about six other people in the building at the time. Babysitter Sandra Samuel escaped with two year old Moshe. The events are tragic and horrific and have had people all around the world terrified, praying and glued to their TV’s. These events are extremely ironic due to the fact that Indian and Pakistani relations were beginning to flourish after a long period of hatred, war, and tension between the two countries. This was caused by fighting over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Another aspect of the tension is the fact that both India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons. Investigators are attempting to determine the identity and origins of the terrorists, what organization they belonged to and the precise details of how they carried out the attacks. This event may strengthen Israeli-Indian relations due to their shared pain from terror and the need to cooperate in fighting it.