26/11 Mumbai terror attacks a 'shared pain' between India and Israel

Many Israelis have described the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as a 'shared pain', and commemorative gatherings have been conducted to condemn the needless killings and demand action against the Pakistan-based masterminds. 

Indians in Israel have been holding candlelight vigils since Friday evening on the 14th anniversary of the terror assault that shocked India, with posters and banners showing the cruelty of the heinous attacks. They demanded that the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks be brought to justice.

The attacks, which drew considerable global criticism, started on November 26 and lasted until November 29, 2008. A total of 166 individuals were killed, including some foreign nationals, and over 300 were injured.

Indian security forces killed nine Pakistani militants. Ajmal Kasab was the one terrorist arrested alive. He was hanged four years later, on November 21, 2012.

While talking to PTI, the President of the Israel-Telangana Association, Ravi Soma, said, "The terrorists who killed women, children and innocent people in such a rage should be identified and eliminated. The world should not only impose tough financial sanctions on nations that give safe heavens to the terrorist but also prevent them from every way."

Telangana's people in Israel organised an event in Ramat Gan (near Tel Aviv) to offer prayers for the innocent people who lost their lives in the brutal atrocities. 

They also mentioned the loss of six Jewish lives in the attacks, which killed 166 people, implying a purposeful attempt to undermine the close links between India and Israel.

The 26/11 terror incident remains an emotional moment for many Israelis who believe the Mumbai terror attack 'is a shared pain' that connects India and Israel.

The Indian Chaplaincy in the Holy Land largely made up of Malayalees from the region, also organised a remembrance ceremony that individuals from across the country attended.

Following an adoration/rosary ritual, a Holy service for those who died in the terrorist attack, and special prayers, there was a meeting with people holding lit candles and placards with anti-terrorism slogans, Indian flags, and pleas to end violence and promote peace.

To PTI, in his statement, Rev. Pradeep, the head of the Indian Chaplaincy, said, "Violence Divides! Love Unites!"

He condemned the Mumbai attacks and hoped that "such incidents will never occur again and people will live in peace and harmony."

Degel Menashe, an organisation representing the Bnei Menashe Jewish community with ties to India's north-eastern provinces of Manipur and Mizoram, condemned the attacks and announced a remembrance ceremony for Saturday.

Members of the organisation also protested in Churachandpur, showing signs that read "no to terrorism" and "we stand by all the victims of the 26/11 attacks."

On Saturday evening, Indian students from all of Israel's main universities, Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, Technion in Haifa, Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, Ariel University in the West Bank, and others, will hold a candlelight vigil to commemorate 26/11.

"Each drop of blood represents a raging fire against terrorism. Each 26/11 martyr is a light kindled amid darkness," Krupa Susan Verghese,  a PhD student at Ariel University, told PTI.

The "gruesome terrorist attacks put lasting scars on every Indian's psyche that cannot be erased," according to Ankit Chauhan, a post-doctoral scholar at Ben-Gurion University.

"Some terrorists who committed this act are still free on this planet. Terrorism has no face, and terrorists should be treated with no mercy. There is no mercy for terror anywhere on the planet," he stressed.

Some of the youngsters also praised the efforts and sacrifices of the Indian security personnel.

Last year, the Jewish outreach organisation Chabad dedicated a plaque in the southern beach city of Eilat in memory of the six Jewish victims of the Mumbai terror attacks.

The inscription in Hebrew says, "To the memory and rising of souls of Rabbi Gavriel Noah and Rivka Holtzberg, who were martyred during the time of their holy mission in a terror attack at the Chabad house in Mumbai, India, from which the message of Torah was spreading all over the area." The Torah is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.

"And for the four guests who were also martyred while staying at the Chabad house at the time of the attack, Rabbi Gavriel Taitelbaum, Mrs Norma Rabinovich, Rabbi Ben Zion Kurman, and Mrs Yocheved Orpaz. May the souls be bound up in the bond of eternal life," the plaque reads in Hebrew.

Six Jews were among the 166 people killed in the terror attack. They were all killed at the Nariman House, also known as the Chabad House. Israeli politicians and officials have repeatedly demanded that those responsible for the horrendous crime be "brought to justice."

(With inputs from PTI)

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