Gabi and Rivki Holtzberg spread Jewish pride

Gavriel Holtzberg was born in Israel and moved to the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn with his parents when he was nine. His wife, born Rivka Rosenberg, was a native of Afula.

"Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, the beloved directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, were killed during one of the worst terrorist attacks to strike India in recent memory," the Chabad's New York headquarters said in a statement.

The couple ran the Chabad's Mumbai headquarters. Their toddler son, Moshe, was smuggled out of the center by an employee on Wednesday, and is now with his maternal grandparents, who arrived from Israel on Thursday. Another son, who was ailing, was in Israel at the time of the attack.

The Holtzbergs arrived in Mumbai in 2003 to serve the small Jewish community there, running a synagogue and Torah classes, and assisting Jewish tourists in the seaside city.

"Gabi and Rivki Holtzberg made the ultimate sacrifice," Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, said in a statement.

"As emissaries to Mumbai, Gabi and Rivki gave up the comforts of the West in order to spread Jewish pride in a corner of the world that was a frequent stop for throngs of Israeli tourists."

Chabad had first raised the alarm Wednesday night, when attacks began in Mumbai, saying it had failed to make contact with the rabbi. Hundreds were also wounded in the attacks, which appeared to target locations popular with foreigners.

source: Haaretz.com