Statement from Marty Markowitz on murder of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg of Brooklyn and his wife, Rivka, Rabbi Leibish Teitelbaum, Alan Scherr and his 13-year-old daughter Naomi of Virginia,
“We join the Brooklyn Lubavitch, Volove, and Satmar communities and all Brooklynites in expressing our outrage over the senseless and cruel murders of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his wife Rivka, Rabbi Leibish Teitelbaum, Alan Scherr and his 13-year-old daughter Naomi of Virginia, and all of the innocents murdered and wounded in Mumbai. The monsters responsible for these attacks are attempting to undermine democracy in peace-loving nations everywhere, but this savagery only strengthens our resolve to eradicate terrorism and such atrocities against innocents of all faiths, wherever they exist.
The Holtzbergs could have lived a simple and quiet life in Crown Heights, where Rabbi Holtzberg grew up, but their sense of religious duty took them to India to run Mumbai’s Chabad House, which, under their stewardship, became a comforting home away from home for thousands of Jews. Rabbi Teitelbaum, the son of the Volover Rebbe from Boro Park, was in Mumbai as a kosher food supervisor. We are inspired by their commitment to others. The prayers of Brooklynites, New Yorkers and the global community are with the family and loved ones of Rabbi Teitelbaum, as well as those of the Holtzberg family, especially their 2-year-old son, Moshe, in this tragic time.
So the deaths of almost 200 others, the wounding of almost 400, the terror, destruction and mayhem wrought on a city of 15 million over 2 days, is a mere footnote to the deaths of these five?
Markowitz should’ve said: “We join all Brooklynites in expressing our outrage over the senseless and cruel murders of the hundreds of innocents in Mumbai. We also join with the Lubavitch, Volove, and Satmar communities and in expressing our grief at the deaths of Gavriel Holtzberg, his wife Rivka, Rabbi Leibish Teitelbaum, Alan Scherr and his 13-year-old daughter Naomi of Virginia.”
I was watching CNN, and was disgusted at the constant reminder that “3 Americans and 1 Briton were dead.” What ethno-centricity.