Meanwhile, on Thursday evening, palestinian terrorists fired 5 mortar in to Israel.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

3:33PM: I’ve already posted the photo; now you can see Omri Casspi, the first Israeli in the NBA, and Hamed Haddadi, the first Iranian in the NBA, making nice on video!

12:20PM: One of the terrorists – apparently a member of the Al Qaeda-affiliated group even more radical than Hamas – has reached his 72 virgin Arafats in “paradise.”

12:15PM: The IAF has struck a cell of terrorists in Gaza, wounding at least 4  preparing to fire rockets into Israel. The rocket launcher itself also did not fair well in the strike.

8:30AM: This is how Ma’an News reported yesterday’s palestinian terror attack on two Israelis.

Palestinian shot in Hebron over alleged knife attack

As if the real tragedy was the terrorist being shot. Also note how the it is the knife attack that is only “alleged”, but the palestinian terrorist being shot is a fact.

But it gets better. Ma’an reports it is palestinians who are afraid after the attack.

Bassam Jabari, a Palestinian living in the area near the settlement, said he was afraid he would be attacked by settlers in the evening following the incident.

Meanwhile, even though they report the attack as being only “alleged”, Ma’an nevetheless tries to blame it on the Joooooos.

Kiryat Arba is located on the outskirts of Hebron, the largest city in the West Bank. It has been a flashpoint for violence in the past. In December 2008, settlers from Kiryat Arba rampaged through neighboring areas, setting fire to houses and injuring several people, after their government evicted Israelis from a nearby house they took over from Palestinians.

Tensions were also running high after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday limitations on construction in the Jewish-only settlements, which were built on land owned by Palestinians.

12:40AM: A follow-up story on young Moshe Holtzberg, orphaned after his parents were slaughtered during the Mumbai Chabad House terror attack a year ago.

12:35AM: Quote of the day:

“I do not envy the prime minister. We are facing an awful administration”

“Within a week, construction will start on housing units (in the West Bank) that had been previously approved, and then we will be accused of being cheaters and scoundrels. I know the prime minister is in distress; it is not easy facing the US president, after the latter dragged him through a series of torments.”

- Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat ripping Barack Obama a new one.

(hat tip: Noah)

A nanny, who saved a two-year-old toddler from Mumbai’s Nariman House, escaped from a terrorist attacking the house, who opened fire in her direction, by slamming the door in his face.

She and another employee of the Jewish centre at Nariman House had gone downstairs to the larder after dinner when they heard explosions, the nanny, identified only by her first name, Sandra, said in a newspaper interview yesterday.

“The noise was very loud,” said Sandra, who has been working for the Israeli couple who have run the Jewish centre in Mumbai for the past year.

“We understood immediately that there was an attack and that there were terrorists,” she said.

Before she and the male employee could hide in the larder, one of the gunmen saw them and opened fire in their direction.

“I don’t know how I managed to react so quickly, but I closed the door in his face. We were saved. He must have thought we escaped through some back door, but there is no such door,” Sandra said.

The two hid in the room until late the next morning, hearing gunfire and explosions. “I was very scared, but I was even more scared for the baby,” Sandra said, adding that she had put two-year-old Moishe to bed earlier in the evening.

“A lot of hours went by. We stayed like that until 11am and then, suddenly, I heard Moishe. He called me: ‘Sandra! Sandra! Sandra!’

“I decided to go upstairs despite the shooting and find him. The guy who was with me didn’t want me to go upstairs, but I was scared that if Moishe kept calling me, somebody will hear him, get to him and harm him.

“When I got upstairs all the terrorists were apparently on the roof. I found Moishe standing next to his parents. Everything was full of blood. I grabbed him, went outside the room and ran outside.”

I am quite aware that the terrorists murdered people from all parts of the world, and my heart goes out to the all the victims and the loved ones they have left behind. But I am going to focus on the Mumbai Chabad House massacre in this post, because as a Jew, I am taking it rather personally.

Islamic terrorists deliberately chose a Jewish – not Israeli like some in the media are reporting – target and murdered 8 people in cold blood, including a Rabbi and his wife. They would have seen the bookcases filled with prayer books, photographs of the young Rabbi and his family, seen that this was a place of peace and worship, yet still murdered them.

I sometimes feel like a broken record saying this, but the Islamic terrorists do not do what they do because of some injustice inflicted on them. They do not do it because of supposed Israeli atrocities against the palestinians (about which no-one in the Arab world really cares). They do it, because they want to establish a global Islamic Caliphate and impose Sharia law on societies currently based on Judeo-Christian principles. And rejecting this truth will not protect you from a terrible fate should these terrorists achieve their ultimate goal.

It is no coincidence that the terrorists target Jews. Evil will always target Jews because we represent G-d in the world. It was true with the Nazis, and it is true with Islamic terrorism, the new Nazism. We have the task to be a light unto the nations, and even when though we may not always be completely successful, we have not done such a bad job. Especially when you look at the amazing work performed by a Jewish organization such as Chabad.

Those of you reading this have two choices. You can agree with what I am saying, and help fight the terrorists. Or you can reject my words, and be part of the problem. And when I talk of fighting the terrorists, I mean waging a war against them online, and throwing your support behind Israel and democratic countries under attack. It means telling those referring to themselves as “palestinians” that they will never get a state while they support terrorism. It means supporting governments who crack down on terrorists and do not appease them.

I pledge to continue the fight against terrorism and those who support it, while trying to spread goodness through the world by increasing acts of charity and lovingkindness, like the Chabad victims of this attack.

If you are with me, let’s do this together.

If you are against me, then you can go to hell. Which I assume you won’t mind since that is precisely what you’ll get with a global Islamic Caliphate.

You can watch developments live here.

In the meantime, please say Psalms for Gavriel Noach ben Freida Bluma, Rivka bas Yehudis and Moshe Tzvi Ben Rivkah, and anyone affected by the tragedy.

Updates (Israel time)

7:35AM: At least 4 bodies have been reportedly found inside the Chabad center, but it is currently not known whether or not they were Israelis.

8:25AM: Two of the Aussies murdered by the terrorists.

8:28AM: Heart-breaking:

The two-year-old son of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka is asking about the whereabouts of his parents, his nanny told Ynet.

—-

The nanny, Sandra Samuel, is a local who had been living with the family. She and the toddler are currently staying in the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai. “The baby is okay, but I have no idea about the couple. Nobody told us anything,” she said.

“In the evening his mother always puts him to sleep and now he doesn’t understand what’s going on,” she added.

11:15AM: More explosions and gunfire have been heard from the Mumbai Chabad house, with reports that the fourth and fifth floors have been evacuated.

11:25AM: It is times like this I feel like quitting blogging and joining an Indian commando unit.

12:05PM: 2 Israeli businessmen have been released from Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel.

You have all probably already heard about the devastating terror attacks in Mumbai, India, which have left at least 101 people dead and 314 injured. My prayers go out to the families of the victims.

In addition, some people have been taken hostage, including Chabad Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his family. According to the Chabad website:

Terrorists attacked multiple locations in Mumbai, India, late Wednesday night, with much of the gunfire occurring near the Chabad-Lubavitch center run by Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg.

—-

Of particular concern to authorities is the report of two gunmen taking foreign tourists hostage at the five-star Oberoi Hotel. The Indian military was reportedly making preparations to take the hotel by force before daybreak. Another 100 tourists and three members of India’s parliament were holed up in the Taj Mahal Hotel.

One friend of Gavriel Holtzberg reported receiving an e-mail from the Mumbai rabbi at 11:30 p.m. local time. The Israeli Consulate was in touch with Holtzberg, but the line was cut in middle of the conversation. No further contact has since been established. Other reports on IBN showed the Chabad House’s building as being occupied by terrorists, but no further information could be confirmed.

Chabad-Lubavitch representatives in New York and Israel are working alongside the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai and a volunteer team of local residents to ascertain the well being of the Holtzbergs and other Jews in the area.

People are urged to say Psalms for Gavriel Noach ben Freida Bluma, Rivka bas Yehudis and Moshe Tzvi Ben Rivkah, and anyone affected by the tragedy.

I will try to keep you updated during the day.

Updates (Israel time)

9:45AM: Ha’aretz reports the Israeli rescue service Zaka said that Rabbi Holtzberg’s wife and two-year-old child have been released.

9:48AM: According to Reuters, at least 5 Israelis are among at least 100 hostages at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai.

9:55AM: There are reportedly at least 4 terrorists in the Chabad building.

10:05AM: According to JPost, the terrorists released Rabbi Holtzberg’s son and nanny, but the Rabbi and his wife remain inside, alive but unconscious.

10:55AM: Yeshiva World News is liveblogging the Chabad situation.

1:00PM: Indian commandos and police are reportedly preparing a final assault on the Chabad House.

1:12PM: According to the Foreign Ministry, 10-15 Israelis are being held hostage in Mumbai, and another 20-25 have yet to contact their families in Israel.

2:22PM: One of the terrorists told a television channel he belonged to an Indian Islamist group calling itself Deccan Mujahedeen, seeking an end to the persecution of Indian Muslims. By persecution of Indian Muslims, I assume he means depriving them of a global Caliphate.

2:32PM: Reuters reports that the terrorists at Mumbai Chabad are ready to discuss a hostage release.

3:22PM: More information regarding the last update: One of the terrorists phoned an Indian television channel to say he was prepared to free his Israeli hostages if the government agreed to talks.

3:35PM: According to Ynet, Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife lost their eldest son two and a half years ago.

4:36PM: According to Yeshiva World News, “American media reports state that three Israelis were killed in the Mumbai Chabad House. At this time, there is absolutely no confirmation from any official Israeli sources.” I pray this isn’t true.

6:02PM: Based on information received by Israel’s most senior officials, there are real fears for the lives of the Israeli hostages being held by terrorists in the Chabad House.

6:05PM: I am about to embark on my drive home. I pray that by the time I get home in an hour or so, I will hear some good news.

7:40PM: Israel’s channel 2 reports 8 to 10 hostages have been released from the Chabad center.

7:52PM: An Indian source has reported that the Rabbi and his wife have been released.

8:06PM: A female Israeli held hostage at the Chabad house reportedly called the Israeli Embassy at gunpoint, in order to state the terrorists’ demands. No word on whether she was one of the hostages reportedly released.

8:09PM: The Israeli consul general in Mumbai has stated that according to Indian news reports, 8-12 hostages were released. But he could not confirm whether it did indeed occur, saying “It could even be the building next door. We are still investigating.”

8:27PM: According to this Indian Twitterer:

more hostages coming out of Nariman house. they look unharmed. thank god

10:00PM: An hour and half since the last update, and still things are not clear. Many conflicting reports, and no real sign that the Rabbi and his wife were released.

10:40PM: A diplomat has confirmed that no hostages have been freed from the Chabad center. Drats.

11:00PM: A loud explosion has reportedly rocked the Chabad house.