Funeral Preparations for Chabad House Victims Under Way

Despite press reports to the contrary, the funerals of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, who perished at their Chabad-Lubavitch center in Mumbai, India, will likely not take place before Monday afternoon.

Israeli Embassy officials in India are preparing the necessary paperwork and awaiting clearance from New Delhi to transport the deceased to Israel for burial.

Other victims identified at the Chabad House included kosher supervisors Rabbi Leibish Teitelbaum, a U.S. born scion of the Volover Chasidic dynasty who lived in Israel, and Bentzion Chroman, an Israeli from the town of Bat Yam; and Yocheved Orpaz, an Israeli who was in India to visit her daughter and grandchildren. A sixth victim has yet to be officially named. Information on their funerals is not yet available.

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Rivkah Holtzberg’s parents, Rabbi Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg of Afula, Israel, arrived in Mumbai on Friday to be with their grandson Moshe, who was heroically rescued from the Rohr Chabad Center – also known as the Nariman House – by his nanny, Sandra Samuel. The family spent a quiet Shabbat at the home of an Israeli consular official and marked Moshe’s two-year birthday.

The Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel, relaying a request from the Rosenberg and Holtzberg families, asked the Israeli government to facilitate the nanny’s entry to the country.

The Chabad-Lubavitch leadership in New York urged people around the world to do good deeds in memory of the Holtzbergs and all those who perished in the attacks.

“The outpouring of love and prayer from all around the globe, and from all quarters of society, during this trying time [is] heartening and supportive,” said Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch. “Let us channel this unity into our own homes and communities, living our lives as they lived their short but productive lives.”

A fund has been established to support the Holtzbergs’ children and to help rebuild the destroyed Chabad House. To contribute, please go to www.ChabadIndia.org by clicking here.

To post reactions to the tragedy on Chabad.org, please click here. People can also pledge good deeds in memory of those killed by clicking here.

Updates will be posted as more information becomes available.