Gunshots were audible on CNN-IBN's coverage, which went dark moments later, at least on the internet feed. "Fighting reported at Mumbai Jewish center," from CNN, November 27:
MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- Fighting broke out early Friday between government soldiers in a helicopter and gunmen holed up inside a Jewish center where two or three gunmen were believed to be remaining.
The helicopter dropped off seven or eight soldiers onto the roof of the Chabad house, and then moved away from the line of fire, CNN sister station CNN-IBN reported.
The operation followed after grenades had been tossed from inside the structure toward anyone approaching the building -- three such explosions occurred in four hours.
But movement appeared imminent shortly before dawn, when several jeeploads of police, firetrucks and at least one ambulance pulled up to the five-story structure.
The fighting at Chabad house comes as Indian security forces appear to be gaining control of two Mumbai five-star hotels attacked by gunmen in a wave of violence that has lasted more than 24 hours and killed at least 125 people.
A gunman was killed around 1 a.m. in the Oberoi hotel, where commandos were going room-to-room, trying to flush out attackers and rescue people, J.K. Dutt, the director of India's National Security Guard, told CNN-IBN, CNN's sister network in India.
Dutt said he could not say how many gunmen remained in the Oberoi, where hostages have been trickling out of the building for hours.
Security forces used in-house telephones to ask guests holed up in their rooms to switch on lights and open curtains, so that they could provide cover, CNN correspondent Andrew Stevens reported.
Well this is no surprise. I don't mean to offend, but are these the stupid Jews, who establish a "Bombay Jewish Center" in a country with 100 million Muslims? I mean, the Jews I meet in America are really smart. And don't start with "the rich history of Jews in India" nonsense.
I wonder how many Indian security forces were bribed to let these scum terrorists infiltrate Bombay from the sea.
Indian Muslims have their own issues but by and large they are not hung up about Americans or Jews. All signs point to the terrorists being largely Pakistanis. Their faces don't look Indian to me, especially if they originate from the Deccan Plateau.
@Bingo: Your entire comment was dumb and moronic in general i dont even know where to begin correcting. Anyhoo fyi, Jewish centres in India are usually for Israeli tourists who throng the country, many of these young people just out of the army!
The scale and sophistication of these attacks should alarm--and stiffen the resistance of--every conscientious, freedom-loving man and woman on this planet.
Bingo;
India has also, incidentally, has its own Jewish community for centuries. The majority Hindu population there has been on good terms with the Jewish population generally.
As for why these particular people are there, the late Rebbe of Lubavitch set up such centers world-wide for Jews everywhere so that we Jews could live freely anywhere in the world.
Bingo blurted out:
"I don't mean to offend, but are these the stupid Jews, who establish a "Bombay Jewish Center" in a country with 100 million Muslims? I mean, the Jews I meet in America are really smart. And don't start with "the rich history of Jews in India" nonsense"
For the purposes of all the jews who go there, for business, who do have to live there for some years at a time, and for those jews remnant who have been there since before the muslims, such is the purpose of Chabad- a jewish worldwide group that sets up places of study and practice for jews worldwide.
Of course, you probably want us all to abandon other places where there are lot's of muslims but you know.... I think that's utterly a bad idea, and also, in this matter, utterly beside the point.
Mark
Unconfirmed: Chabad Couple Murdered in Mumbai
Kislev 1, 5769, 28 November 08 02:29by Hana Levi Julian
(IsraelNN.com) An Indian newspaper has reported that Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka have been killed by Islamist terrorists who held them hostage in the siege on their Chabad House in Mumbai.
The Chabad House was one of 10 sites that were struck by some 25 terrorists who apparently infiltrated into Mumbia by sea and then fanned out through the city.
The unconfirmed report in the Economist Times was quoted on the Chabad.info website, which cited the publication as credible, but cautioned readers that there had been no other source for the report and no way to confirm its veracity. A family member told the Chabad website that it was a rumor, saying "if there's news the family would be the first to know."
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Mark and others: I'm still perplexed. This is like opening a USO in downtown Tehran or in Somalia. The rabbi who established these centers around the world must've known he was creating targets for crazy people. Yes, in a perfect world he should be able to do this free from attack, but let's be real. I think it's irresponsible considering the climate in that part of the world.
mgoldberg
I'm watching the Nariman operation live on TV right now as I type. Actually, they had reported yesterday afternoon (local time) that the Nariman House/Chabad House had been evacuated by all hostages (the kid of the Rabbi had been rescued), and that commandos had surrounded it and were waiting for the evacuation of hostages from the other 2 hotels to complete before they commenced operations here.
I'm not ruling out what you reported, but am wary of it. Most of the evacuees declined to comment due to safety concerns of those remaining in the hotels. Right now, in the Taj Hotel, there are still 15 hostages remaining, so it's still early to speculate on what's going on as far as the hostages go.
Bingo
India has its own (admittedly miniscule) Jewish population that's been there long before the Mohammedans arrived, even though you may not want to hear that. From your comments, one would think that India is an Islamic country. Well, India may have 100m+ Mohammedans, but it has 800m+ Hindus who are the reason that it's not a Mohammedan country. For this reason, Jews should not be avoiding India in the same way they would any Islamic country.
As has been pointed out earlier, Hindus and Jews have peacefully co-existed for millenia. To add to that, as Vikrant pointed out, India is a favorite tourist destination for young Israelis graduating from the army. Pretty good reasons to establish such centers.
Using your criteria, since Israel has a large Mohammedan population, should Jews leave that as well?