Two Families Tragic Turn In Mumbai

The McFreeds share the stories of two families tied by tragedy...

Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), India is known as the "City of Dreams" to most Indians. It is the city of commerce like our New York. It is the city of movie stardom like Los Angeles. This week it became a city of terror that many of the world's largest and sparkling cities have been falling victim too in an age of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. Sadly, the death toll is climbing slowly towards 200 dead and hundreds more wounded at 11 locations around the now blood-soaked and barricaded town more infamous for its traffic than the fear that now grips it. Many families lost members to this tragedy, here is the tale of two of them. May they rest in peace and not be forgotten in tragedy.

These two families, profiled below, are not natives in India and there are many, many more stories to tell about Indian families who lost one or many loved ones to this tragedy as well. Unfortunately, the media has in print at least focused only on foreigner stories in print for the moment so we added a film of stories of Indians in a hospital.

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Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holzberg and his wife Rivka Holzberg were two people caught up in this madness. They both lost their lives at the Chabad House (formerly the Nariman House) either during the initial terrorist assault or sometime during the Indian assault on the location.  Fortunately, their 2-year old son Moshe survived thanks to an alert cook/nanny at the Chabad House who escaped as the terrorists first arrived. The couple's other child was not with them in Mumbai and was not in any danger at the time of the attack.

Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka Holtzberg

Gavriel, 29, was a native of Israel who was raised in Brooklyn, NY since he was 9 by his parents. He had traveled, studied, and lived in China, Thailand, and Argentina. Rivka, 28, was a native of Israel. Both were dedicated members of the Chabad-Lubavitch International organization. 

Chabad-Lubavitch International is a Hasidic-based organization that supports 4,000 full-time emissary families who apply 250 year-old principles and philosophy to direct more than 3,300 institutions (and a workforce that numbers in the tens of thousands) dedicated to the welfare of the Jewish people worldwide.  The Mumbai Chabad House is basically a religious consulate providing religious activities such as worship, marriage, circumscision, educational, and kosher services to the community as well as social programs for those suffering from poverty or drug addiction.

The Holzbergs lived at Chabad House since 2003 and were the original founders of the location.

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Naomi Scherr and Alan Scherr with wife/mother Kia Scherr (left)

Alan Scherr, 58, was the vice-president of the Synchronicity Foundation, a trancendental meditation organization founded by Master Charles Cannon headquartered in Charlottesville, VA. He lived their with his wife Kia and their daughter Naomi.  Alan served as the foundation's spokesman and developer of all written materials. Master Charles led a spiritual pilgrammage to India of 25 people - Americans, Canadians, and Australians. Naomi, 13, tagged along to experience a country with her father alone he had visited and spoken about many times.

Father and daughter were shot and killed inside the Hotel Oberoi-Trident while eating dinner at a cafe with members of their tour.  Master Charles himself identified their bodies where they lay as he evacuated the hotel after the barricade and hostage crisis ended at that location.

Kia was in Florida for the Thanksgiving Holiday visiting her mother and two sons from a previous marriage when she learned the news.