Pakistan arrests alleged mastermind of Mumbai attacks which killed six Jews
Authorities hold Hafiz Saeed, the founder of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, more than a decade after the attacks killed 174 people including six at a Jewish centre
Pakistani police have arrested the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks which killed six Jews including a rabbi and his pregnant wife.
Hafiz Saeed is the founder of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) and has long been wanted for planning the four-day assault on the city, which left at least 174 people dead and more than 300 injured.
Ten highly-trained militants carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across the city in November 2008. Among the targets was a Jewish outreach centre based at Nariman House, which has since been renamed Chabad House.
Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg bought the five-storey building in 2006 and set up an educational centre, synagogue, drug prevention service and hostel. It mainly catered to Israeli travellers headed for Goa and Rajasthan.
The couple were among eight Israelis taken hostage during the attacks. After several hours of aborted negotiations, Indian commandos stormed the building in the early hours.
The couple were among six killed. Rivka had been six months pregnant. Their two-year son Moshe was saved by the couple’s Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, who now lives in Israel, after being granted honourary citizenship.
Others killed included Bentzion Kruman from Israel, Leibish Teitelbaum from Brooklyn, Yoheved Orpaz from Israel and Norma Rabinovich from Mexico.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (L-e-T) is a powerful force in Pakistan. It runs hundreds of religious seminaries as well as schools, hospitals, publishers and even an ambulance service.
Defence analysts say its operations are so sophisticated that help from Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence services is almost inevitable. L-e-T is alleged to have attacked India’s parliament in 2001 and killed 40 Indian policemen in a raid earlier this year.
Commentators were suspicious of the timing of Saeed’s arrest, coming just days before Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was due to fly to Washington, D.C. The United States has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Saeed’s arrest.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
