Statement by Israeli Consul General to the Southwest Asher Yarden

From Consul General to the Southwest Asher Yarden,
 
      The terrorist attack in Mumbai last week, that took the lives of over 170 people, was meant to destroy the lives of as many civilians as possible. In addition to Indians, there were nationals from 24 different countries killed or injured. The targets which were chosen, among them the Taj Hotel, Victoria Railway Station, the Oberoi Trident Hotel, Leopold Cafe, and Nariman House, known to us as the Chabad House, were all places of gathering for Westerners who visit India. However, Chabad House is different in a sense that there, and only there, will one find a concentration of Israelis and Jews - and this was another objective of the terrorists, not necessarily secondarily - to murder as many Israelis and Jews at a Chabad Center.
      Have they succeeded? Well, they certainly spread anguish and agony among the mourning families of the victims and among Israelis and Jews worldwide, but they have not deterred a single Israeli or Jew from traveling to India. Nor have they deterred the Chabad movement from continuing and even strengthening their mission.
      During the memorial service at the Chabad Center in Houston, those present were notified of a new Chabad House which is soon to open in Pearland, TX. May this be the message to the perpetrators of the massacre in Mumbai, their accomplices and the people who sent them.
 
For the text of President Peres' eulogy on December 2, 2008 and comments by Prime Minister Olmert and Foreign Minister Livni, click here.