Tragedies and Protests of the Violence in Mumbai

A week ago, the world witnessed an atrocious act of terrorism in Mumbai where over 175 people were killed and many more wounded by Pakistani terrorists. There have been gripping stories all over the print and visual media of survivors and those who were killed. The story of the terror that occurred at the Chabad House in Mumbai is particularly disturbing because this was the first instance of a Jew being targeted simply being a Jew in India. My thoughts and prayers are with Rabbi Holzberg's family, and son. We also hope that Rabbi Dov Goldberg, the rabbi who has been selected to replace Holzberg, will continue to serve the Jewish community of Mumbai successfully. This past weekend's edition of The International Tribune noted the particular fear and rage that ran through the city. It gave amazing detail to the stories of survivors baricaded inside their rooms at the Taj hotel and others. The notion that was presented through the Tribune, was that terror is nothing new in India, and time after time, the Indians have found the power to stand up, clean up, and return to normalcy as quickly as possible. The quicker they do return to normalcy, the better. If you have a chance, it is certainly worth reading this. 

In the Tuesday edition of The New York Times, Op-Ed Columnist Thomas Freidman addresses the topic of the Mumbai attacks. The interrogation of the lone surviving terrorist has shown that the group is from Pakistan. Although we should be critical of anything this survivor says since it can't easily be checked, I do believe this part of it.  If this is in fact true, Freidman hit the nail on the head when he called for the masses of 'ordinary people' of Pakistan to rise up against the Mumbai terrorist and say that they do not condone this representation of Pakistan. Without doing so, not many people are likely to talk to actual Pakistanis and hear the words from their lips that they do not condone the bombers. A stereotype will emerge labeling Pakistan as a supportive nation to the message trying to be sent by the attacks in Mumbai. The ordinary Pakistanis must stand up and support their Islamic brethren in rebuffing any notion that Pakistan or its people supported the Mumbai bombers. What was the message the attacks were trying to send? I think as the interrogation and investigation continues, we might continue to learn parts of their purpose, but we will never learn the whole thing. 

While this blog topic certainly doesn't fit into the sphere of US politics or the economy, I think it was an important issue to address and I though Freidman made a very strong argument. The 

address for this article is linked to the blog! The next blog will most certainly reflect on my travels through the Swiss Alps and possibly some fresh powder?!?!

Happy Skiing/Studying.

Pray for snow!

ZGSKIER