Shocked Jews pray for Mumbai victims

NEW DELHI: The mood was sombre at the Judah Hyam Synagogue on Humayun Road on Friday. Rabbi Ezekile Isaac Malekar, who conducted the memorial prayer in Hebrew for those killed in Mumbai on November 26, couldn't say this often enough: "The prayer is for everyone, not just the Jews.'' A small but attentive group stood with their eyes to the ground as he recited the Hashcabah, which was followed by the Kaddish.
Lieutenant General (retired) JFR Jacob, celebrated for masterminding the 1971 Indo-Pak war, read out `The Lord is My Shepherd' to a group of grieving Jews from India and abroad.Among them was Ellen Wiesenfeld, a Canadian who has lived in the city for over two years. "We've never felt insecure here; the Jews are well integrated and the targeted attack on the tiny community has stunned us all,'' she said.
Michael Steinman, country manager with Ukrainian Airlines, observed darkly, "Maybe there are more bombs waiting for us as we walk down the street and go about out daily business. It's as though we're just waiting for the axe to fall.''
Shards of anger welled up as the group spoke of the massacre of 29-year-old Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah, at the Chabad-Lubavitch centre in Mumbai. "We set foot in this country 2000 years ago, and we're as Indian as you are. But some people are bound to think of us as a minority that must be singled out and slaughtered,'' said the rabbi.
There are just 5000 Jews in the country and the majority, around 4000, live in Mumbai. Delhi is home to 50 of Indian origin. Ezekiel recalled how the news of the massacre led to an instant outpouring of sympathy from his non-Jewish friends: "They were all here that day, Hindus and Muslims alike, praying for the madness to end.''
Among the non-Jews who attended the memorial service was Jalabala Vaidya of Akshara Theatre. Biting into the traditional braided Challah bread, she said, "I'm here to say how terribly sorry I feel it's appalling that Jews have been murdered in my country.''
The rabbi, who also works for the National Human Rights Commission, recalled a meeting with former PM of Israel, Ariel Sharon. When asked if he wanted to go back to the country of his origin, he had said, "Israel is in my heart but India is in my blood. This country is my karmbhoomi.''
His son, Noel, a 21-year-old student of English Literature, is a drummer in a fusion band. He stressed the fact that the very name of the band, Vedanta, reflected the pluralistic nature of not just the music it played but the city it played for.
The rabbi's daughter, Shulamith, a 23-year-old working in Mumbai in a research agency, was heartbroken. In a telephonic conversation, she said, "I still can't believe it's happened in Mumbai. I've only lived here for nine months but I feel like a Mumbaikar the city never made me feel like a stranger.''
Back in Delhi, her father was equally saddened by the fact that the devout will now have to produce a passport or a driver's licence as proof of identity before they can enter the synagogue for prayer: "We'll have to treat our very own like complete strangers.''