Updates from Mumbai

Dear Friend and Reader,

Some updates from Mumbai:

Five people have been found dead in the Nariman House, the Jewish center in Mumbai. “The whole city has come to a complete standstill,” according to Roy Wadia, Mumbai-based media consultant and former CNN International executive producer, whose relatives were at Leopold Cafe when it was attacked and didn’t reach home until 3 am.

The state department is confirming that at least two Americans were killed, Mr Alan Scherr and his 13-year-old daughter Naomi are the first confirmed American casualties in the attacks. They were travelling as part of a meditation retreat with the organization Synchronicity.

So far, there have been no new acts of violence; there are only remnants of the prior situations holding over.

Brooklyn Rabbi Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, who were living in Nariman House, are confirmed dead. Their two-year-old son, Moshe, was rescued from the House 12 hours into the siege.

I highly recommend the SAJA radio show for information on the attacks. Prominent journalists and experts on India and Judaism in India are all phoning in and participating in news updates and analysis.

–Rachel Asher