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Parents of Slain Rabbi Light Mumbai Menorah


The parents of two Jewish leaders killed in last month's terror attacks in Mumbai have paid tribute to their children in the Indian city on the fifth night of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

Family, friends and colleagues of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, gathered Thursday outside the Chabad House, the Jewish center the couple ran. They recited prayers and lit a large, public menorah (decorative candlestick with several arms or branches) to mark the eight-night holiday and commemorate the couple.

The Chabad House was one of 10 Mumbai sites captured by gunmen in the November 26 attacks that left more than 170 people dead, including the Holtzbergs and four other Jewish foreigners.

The Holtzberg's two-year-old son, Moshe, survived the attack after his nanny grabbed him and escaped.

The couple's family members were expected to light a second menorah later Thursday at the Gateway to India monument, a ceremonial archway on Mumbai's seafront.

The interim head of the Chabad House, Rabbi Dov Goldberg, says he will move swiftly to rebuild the badly damaged Chabad House. He says the center will be rebuilt better than before and include extra security. The facility served as a spiritual center for Jewish visitors.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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