Jerusalem/New Delhi, Nov 26 (PTI) As Indians and Israelis pay respect to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks on Friday, Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon has said that the painful chapter only strengthened their bond and commitment to work together to stop the global menace of terrorism.
On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists went into a rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre in Mumbai, after they sneaked into India’s financial capital using the sea route in the Arabian sea.
As many as 166 people were killed in the nearly 60-hour assault that sent shockwaves across the country and even brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a war.
“Today, we stand with the people of India in remembering the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. This tragic event targeted citizens of India, as well as Israel, and tourists from around the world. To mark the day, we organised events in India and Israel to commemorate all the innocent lives lost that day,” Gilon told PTI.
“This painful chapter in our shared history only strengthens our bond and commitment to work together to stop global terrorism,” he added.
Separately, a senior Indian diplomat echoed similar sentiments during a virtual conference to commemorate the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks, saying that while Pakistan tried to “drive us apart”, it failed miserably in its efforts as the two countries are “closer than ever before” cooperating in several spheres, including against terrorism.
“Terrorists from Pakistan, who perpetrated these horrific attacks hoped that by striking the places where our countries and people come together, they would succeed in driving us apart. But they failed miserably in their attempts as this brought the people and governments of India and Israel closer than ever before,” Rakhee Mayuri, First Secretary at the Indian embassy in Israel, said on Friday.
“India and Israel are now strategic partners cooperating in several spheres, including against terrorism,” she stressed during a Zoom conference organised by the Indian Jewish Heritage Center and The Cochin Jewish Heritage Center to discuss the impact of the event on Indo-Israel diplomatic ties.
“Both countries are in agreement that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever. We thank Israel for standing with India in our endeavor of defeating this scourge,” Mayuri emphasised.
While it is extremely difficult to forget the awful images of 26/11, with terrorists leaving behind a trail of destruction, the diplomat noted that the resolve and the resilience of the Indian people during and after the attacks nullified the savagery of the terrorists.
“Unlike the murderers from Pakistan, who came to kill innocent civilians that day, for the people of India and Israel, the Mumbai attack shall always remain a good example of how good will always prevail over evil,” she asserted.
Pakistani radical cleric Hafiz Saeed’s Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) is the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack.
Kobbi Shoshani, Israel’s Consul General in Mumbai, fresh from a visit to the Nariman House where six Jews were killed during the attacks, recalled “the death silence, the bullet holes, smell of ammunitions and the broken doors” at the Chabad House during his visit to Mumbai in 2008 a few days after the attacks.
After laying a wreath at the wall in Nariman House which has names of all the victims of the Mumbai attacks engraved, Shoshani said that in a strange way it was comforting for him to hear “noise of children” there.
Director of South-East Asia Desk at the Israeli Foreign Ministry Yaron Mayer, in his Zoom speech, said that “we will not give into terror”, recounting his close association with Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was murdered in those dastardly attacks.
He thanked all those who participated in commemorating the victims of the 2008 attacks.
Brigadier Govind Singh Sisodia, who led one of the commando units of the NSG to neutralise the LeT terrorists, mourned the loss of innocent lives and said it was very clear that the terrorists had “the blessings of the neighbour”, referring to Pakistan.
He said the targets were “carefully chosen” and the 10 terrorists were trained for over a year.
Indians in Israel have organised a series of events across the country to commemorate the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks, also calling upon for punishment for the mastermind of those attacks.
