Mumbai – The Jewish Chabad centre will not be allowed to continue at its original site at Nariman House, local Shiv Sena shakha pramukh Vijay Surve of the Colaba shakha has told The Hindu.
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“Under no condition can they come back here,” he said. The centre was the site of an attack by Islamic militants on November 26 when nine Jews were taken captive by two terrorists. The ensuing siege by the armed forces lasted almost 40 hours.
“We have absolutely no dushmani [enmity] with Israel or with the Chabad people,” said Mr. Surve. “They had lived here quietly for long. But this attack was targeted at them and this battle between Israelis and Islamic terrorists is life long. Such an attack can easily happen again. No one can guarantee it will not.”
Would there be objections even if the new Chabad centre had high security? “They will secure their building and they might be safe inside, but who will look after us?” said Mr. Surve. “We are all poor people here. Even on the night of the attack it took the police hours to get here. So we have to look after our own security.”
Mr. Surve was sceptical about the possibility of setting up adequate security measures in the narrow gully in which the Nariman House is located. The Chabad centre should be given a suitable place where they could have the security they required with open space around the building. “It should not be in a residential area. If they come back here, there will only be tension.” The shakha pramukh said this was not a unilateral decision of the Sena. It came from the residents.
Nariman House is currently the property of the Chabad. On December 26, a ceremony involving the lighting of the menorah on the fifth day of the religious festival of Chanukah signified a symbolic reoccupation of the house. Officials of the Chabad said that though the movement would continue to be based in Mumbai, no decision had been taken about where it would be located.
Another reason we need to truly appreciate what we enjoy in the USA!
just watch . soon they will say that no israelis can enter their country.
Capitulating to terrorists = liberal Western democracy
such chutzpah!!
Truth be told, Who would want to go there in the first place? Yes, Chabad say they would, but rest assured, every time they would hear a siren or something that sounded like a bomb, they’d be scared to death. It’s a nightmare to be relived.
Maybe they should close down the Taj Mahal hotel also……
And so should the hotels move
to 1,
great point.
and the oberoi also
I hate to say it, but can you blame them?
I know to Chabad this will seem not fair at all. But, to the frightened neighbors …… I, for one, do understand their fear. Every word said by then in this article is correct. They problem is not over, and they have every reason to fear it happening again, G-d Forbid.
Now, I know some people will brazenly say, “If THEY don’t like it, let THEM move, we own the place.” But that is not fair to people who have been living there, and have been traumatized by all this. Most can’t afford to move. What are they to do. If Chabad re-opens, they will never get another minute’s sleep, or peace of mind.
As I said, and I really do hate to say it, the shaliach SHOULD look for another location. … as hard as that will be to do.
The Moslem extremists, y”s, are enemies of India, as well. I hope this so-far, friendly nation to Jews, is not going to cave in because of their Pakastani enemy neighbors. Also, how can you legally bar from someone from living someplace if their passports and papers are in order? As #1 said, they may as well close down the Taj and all places where Westerners congregate. Are they going to evict the Israeli ambassador and close down the embassy??
The Indian government should provide Chabad with new headquarters since the government failed in its security measures.
so if you cand watch them so dont let in jews anymore to india.
or if you cand watch hotels dont let any hotel to be opened in india FUNNY
like there was never such a thing as terrorism in india before this??? let them choke on their non cows! such mamzeyrim!
Shiv Sena is a small right wing party that is currently part of the opposition in India having won 12 parliamentary seats out of 543 in the most recent nationwide elections. India has hosted Jews for over two thousand years with no persecution whatsoever under either Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim rulers.
so if you cand watch them so dont let in jews anymore to india.
or if you cand watch hotels dont let any hotel to be opened in india FUNNY
Would anyone like it (security-wise) if an Israeli embassy moved in next door to them?
That is what it feels like to the people living there.
This is ridiculous. If you have to disagree with a post at least do it nicely. Why does everyone feel they need to belittle someone with an opposite opinion. This is why we are still living in golus and this is why we are suffering the way we are. If you disagree with someones opinion thats fine but say it in a way that behooves a Jewish person.
who in chabad is crazy enough to go back? are they suicidal? non sense!
its understandable in there view
It’s easy to blame the victims, after all they will not fight back.
India’s message to terrorism: You’ve successfully managed to scare us. We will allow you to take us over.
to # 21:
so you don’t fly or step foot into manhattan anymore? cuz if you do, YOU’RE
SUICIDAL!!
reply to #21 :
the chassidim who kept judaism alive in stalinist russia were pretty “suicidal”. most of them did not live to tell their tales. the previous lubavitcher rebbe openly demanded mesiras nefesh from them.
though i cant say that having a chabad house in india under heavy security is any worse than in chevron, yesh”a etc.
but one thing is for sure – closing up shop and giving in to terror is definitely suicidal.
DANGEROUS so, if it will be a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manhattan we will have to leave? India is also a democracy.
You are all missing some points this guy said which are to his defense. “It took the police hours to get here” & “we are all poor people.” I believe the two may be connected, meaning because of the poor neighborhood, the police took hours to get there — it wasn’t a priority. (Plus the traffic in Mumbai is horrendous, it literally takes hours to travel through the city.) To the the hotels, I believe, the response was quicker. If we were Chas V’shalom living in a city where the cops won’t, or can’t protect us, would we act otherwise?
If they think that its too dangerous with having the shmira of the zechusim generated by having a chabad house in the neighborhood, I’d hate to clue them in on how much more dangerous it is without one.
Am yisroel chai
While I don’t agree with the Indian Gov’t (as other’s have pointed out, it’s not fair — then close the hotels too…) I think that Chabad should graciously comply with their wishes without protest. The world will be watching to see how Chabad reacts to this pronouncement and we must show the world that we are peaceful, law abiding citizens. The message should be, “While we regret the decision we will comply quickly and peacefully because we are obligated to follow the laws of the country we live and and because we understand the intense concerns of our neighbors following the attacks.”
Instead of Chabad saying that the Indian Govt./people could have done a whole lot more to protect and subsequently free the people at the Chabad House during the attack, the Indians are acting as if they are peace loving people that are good with everyone (including Pakistan???) and do not want any trouble. Nebach….
They are entitiled to their opinion, but cannot dictate whether if Chabad is there or not. Unless they are not a free and open democratic society?!
Should Chabad walk away from the thousands of Neshamos that they will save?
Jewish businessmen should send a strong message: No Chabad, No Business.
I wonder if the Rebbe would be alive today, if he would let them back? In Spain there was a gezeire by our chachumim for jews never to go back to to all the murders of the Inquisition!
I don’t purport to know what the right answer is, but I hope people keep a few suggestions in mind. First, stop screaming anti-semitism. This is about the legitimate fears of neighbors who were there long before Chabad and are, in general, a very poor and unempowered population, and the Chabad representatives are not even Indians, and many of the people they serve are not Indians. Second, there is no reason Chabad has to be in that exact spot in order to continue its good works, although the building now, sadly, has symbolic value. They could provide better security in a building that is much more separated from its neighbors and not in narrow, crowded alleys . Third, if they decide to rebuild there and are allowed to, they should be excellent neighbors. Chabad international has the resources to raise funds to do good works for the neighborhood, not just the Jews. How about opening a soup kitchen and a job training program for the neighborhood or a medical clinic? Have they provided grief counsellors, etc. for the neighbors yet? Before any rebuilding, they should meet with neighbors and explain what they are doing and why and how they will help the neighborhood and show sensitivity to the neighbors’ concerns and wishes, such as by adopting some of their neighbors’ suggestions. The new Chabad representatives may wish to learn the local language so they can speak with their neighbors in their own language and show that they really want to be part of the community, and not just foreigners serving foreigners.
Have the non-Jewish Indians not proved that they who can ARE willing to risk their lives to help save the life of a Jew? They are brave, good, people.
But, we need to respect each of their personal rights. The Chabad house can relocate elsewhere, and should. It would be “Hakoras HaTov” on the part of the Shaliach to recognize the bravery of the Indians and respecting those whose lives have been traumatized too much to tolerate living in fear, by not building a new Chabad house right next to them again.
Also, guys, forget “rights” for a moment.
We all respect that we can’t open a bakery in a residential building, as it is a fire hazard with ovens on while children are sleeping.
A Chabad house in this area has proven to be an unsafe neighbor, no matter what security we can provide. Would you want YOUR children asleep next to a location which may be attacked again?
Let us show Hakoras HaTov, and perform the act of chesed of voluntarily relocating this Chabad House.
I am surprised that none of you brought up the argument that:
“If we give in and not rebuild this Chabad House, then neighbors around the world may force Chabad houses to close, or be more inflexible regarding future ones.’
This unfortunate statement is likely to turn out to be true ….
Things just MAY get harder for us in this respect.
We MAY truly find more opposition to a Chabad House, especially next to a residence.
But, that does not mean that re-opening this Chabad house is justified.
It is MEAN to force people to live in fear.
and, unfortunately this may result in our having to “just say no” to future locations which are “too close for comfort” to private homes.
To the various comments that support the position of forbiding the Chabad House to reopen – Are you motivated to support the Indian goyim, or are you motivated to shutting down Chabad House(s)? Be honest! I suspect your motivation comes not purely out of your Ahavas Hodim, but the latter.
They allow the Chabad House to rebuild, but not on that site, and they are 100% right! A Chabad House should only be built in a public place, easy to reach… That doesn’t mean they have to be more public. They can have the same small house, but it should be easily accesible by security forces, if attacked.