World Jewish News

The bodies of six people killed in India were brought to Israel.

Last night the bodies of six people killed in India were brought to Israel: Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, Aryeh-Leib (Leibish) Teitelbaum, Yocheved Orpaz, Bentzion Chroman and Norma Shvarzblat-Rabinovich. The coffins of the four Israeli citizens were wrapped in flags of the State of Israel, the coffins of a Satmarian hasid Aryeh-Leib Teitelbaum and the citizen of Mexico Norma Shvarzblat-Rabinovich were covered with tallits.
A mourning ceremony took place at the Ben Gurion airport, though it did not include Teitelbaum at the request of his family. Members of the Israel Defence Forces carried the coffins out of the plane and placed them in the hall where the ceremony was held.
The Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Symbols and Ceremonies Yaakov Edry, Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor of Israel Eli Ishay, Defense Ministry Deputy Director Victor Bargil, family members of the deceased, and representatives of the Embassies of India and Mexico took part in the ceremony.
After the mourning ceremony the bodies of the victims will be taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, and after the last identification procedure and funeral preparations they will be relinquished for burial.
The Jewish community of Mumbai held a mourning ceremony dedicated to the memory of the victims of the terrorist attack. The participants read a prayer, and the Ambassador of Israel in India Mark Sofer presented a speech in which he claimed that Israel is going to take more active participation in the war with terrorism.
"We will continue our work aimed at prevention of such situations in the future. This is a hard day for India, for Israel and for all of the Jewish people, but it is hardest for the families of the victims. It is time to think about the reasons that cause people to turn to such barbarism", - said Mr. Sofer.
According to the British Daily Telegraph, the Jewish hostages at Nariman building were tortured before death. The article cites a coffin maker, who said he was shocked at the view of the bodies, which showed evident signs of torture. Daily Telegraph says that 10 Islamic fanatics killed 22 foreigners – more Jews among them than representatives of any other nationality. The total number of terrorist victims in Mumbai is around 200 people.
The employees of ZAKA (Israeli organization that deals with the identification of bodies of terrorist acts victims, in order to bury them according to the Jewish tradition) stayed by the bodies for several days to make sure that Indian authorities do not do any autopsies, which are prohibited by Jewish law.
The day before a unique forum and video conference took place, where around 10 000 Chabad followers remembered the victims of Islamic terrorists.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel still has no information about the two Israelis who could have been in Mumbai during the attacks.

Источник: newsru.co.il