Bush consoles Chabad

December 2, 2008

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- President Bush sent his condolences to Chabad-Lubavitch for the loss of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg.

The Holtzbergs, the young couple who ran the Mumbai Chabad center, and four other Jews were killed in last week's terrorist attacks in the Indian city.

"Through countless acts of love and kindness, the lost members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community in Mumbai represented the best of the human spirit, and their memories will live on in the hearts and souls of those they touched," Bush wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to the Holtzberg funeral in Israel and posted on the Chabad Web site. "It is impossible for us to make sense of the violence of the Mumbai terrorist attack, yet we offer our deepest sympathy to the Chabad-Lubavitch community during this difficult time. We pray that you will be comforted by your fond memories of those lost, encouraged by their noble legacy, sustained by your faith, and lifted by the support of your loved ones."

A separate personal letter was sent to the Holtzbergs' parents via Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the Washington director of American Friends of Lubavitch.

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