PETER KOHN

A MELBOURNE rabbi paid tribute to murdered Mumbai Chabad leader Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, as the Melbourne and Sydney Jewish communities began ramping up security after the terrorist attacks in India.
St Kilda Hebrew Congregation’s Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn met Rabbi Holtzberg in Mumbai when he led a tour of 14 Australian and overseas travellers to India two years ago.
Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife Rivkah were found dead in Mumbai’s Chabad House, after it was attacked by terrorists during last week’s onslaught on the city.
“He was a wonderful, wonderful man, who had really endeared himself very much to the local community in half a dozen synagogues or more,” Rabbi Heilbrunn told The AJN this week.
Rabbi Heilbrunn said that at the Chabad House, Rabbi Holtzberg “taught himself to do the ‘laining’ in their manner, to give respect to their traditions, even though it wasn’t his own personal tradition”.
“I was amazed that his English was impeccable. He was from American people, who had made aliya, even though he was born in Israel. He had a very beautiful way about him how he dealt with people how he conducted himself. He certainly was held in very high regard.”
Rabbi Heilbrunn said that when he met the Chabad emissary he was contemplating leaving.
“He’d fulfilled his time, but there were a lot of people who were very keen that he should stay on because they liked him so much.
“The Chabad House in Mumbai is the tiniest of identities. They obviously must have been targeted. In the midst of a billion people, to go for a Chabad House, it’s unbelievable.”
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria Community Security Group (CSG) is analysing the Mumbai attacks and is planning to strengthen security measures at local synagogues and communal buildings.
CSG coordinator Gavin Queit said the group would be beefing up security where local centres are seen to be ­vulnerable.
“We have done some analysis and further analysis will be done along the lines of how the target [the Mumbai Chabad Centre] was picked. It has exposed certain vulnerabilities and we will move to minimise those vulnerabilities,” he said.
In Sydney, NSW Council for Jewish Community Security chair Peter Wise this week said the Mumbai Chabad House had been deliberately targeted.
“The tragedy that has unfolded before our eyes in Mumbai in recent days is a stark warning to us all. It is no coincidence that in the vast sprawling metropolis of Mumbai, where terrorists target major hotels, and other major landmarks, that a tiny Jewish centre in an obscure location is also singled out in an act of cold-blooded premeditation,” he said.
“For all our sakes, I hope that the events in Mumbai will act as a wake-up call and that support of the Jewish Communal Security Appeal will become a top priority for all, before this year comes to an end.”
Meanwhile, the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) has condemned the Mumbai attacks.
RCV president Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant issued a statement saying the organisation “is shocked and saddened by the horrendous and senseless murder of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his Rebbetzin, and all the others who lost their lives in this tragedy”.