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Terror in Mumbai Report about Chabad House victims wrapped in tallitot was false By Haaretz Staff Tags: Ehud Olmert, Mumbai Chabad  A report in several media outlets that Jews killed during a terrorist raid of the Chabad House in Mumbai on Friday were found wrapped in prayer shawls is false, despite the credence lent it by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's repetition of the tale on Sunday. "The pictures of the Jewish victims and this terrible image of the directors of the Chabad House wrapped in tallitot are shocking and bring us back to images from history, which we hoped would not be repeated," Olmert said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting. "But it appears that hatred of Jews and Israelis spurred these terrible acts." Olmert's comments notwithstanding, there were no prayer shawls on the bodies of any of the six Jews killed in the Chabad House when Israeli Embassy officials, rescue workers and Haaretz and Maariv reporters went in after the raid. A senior diplomatic official said a rumor that one of the hostages had wrapped one or more of the others in a tallit was completely false. Advertisement Five Israelis and a Mexican Jewish woman were killed in the Chabad House during a three-day terror rampage in India's financial capital, and two additional Israelis remain unaccounted for. The fatalities are among at least 174 people killed during the siege. The rumor started because a Jewish doctor placed a tallit over the dead body of a Jewish victim in the hospital morgue, said the Israel Defense Forces attache in India, who led the Israeli rescue efforts. The doctor was apparently motivated by the Jewish precept of honoring the dead, in part by covering the corpse. The rumor was apparently spread by an Israeli rescue worker from the Zaka organization who went to Mumbai to identify bodies and was in telephone contact with friends in Israel. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Boycotting Wagner The composer's works will remain a sensitive topic in Israel for many years. Bound for Gaza The Libyan ship is the most notable attempt yet to break the Gaza blockade.   1.   "despite the credence lent it by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert" 07:53  |  Susan 01/12/08   2.   yes BUT! will the truth be as WIDELY disseminated as the rumor? 09:07  |  eric 01/12/08   3.   Will someone clarify & Check the facts out, FIRST!!! 09:50  |  Wise SOLOMON 01/12/08   4.   Gee, thanks Ha`aretz for being the harbenger of "truth". 10:04  |  Jew 01/12/08   5.   #`s 3 & 4 like i said: the damage has been done 10:40  |  eric 01/12/08   6.   Haaretz again shows it`s ugly anti-religious face 10:44  |  Zelkha 01/12/08   7.   THE TRUTH 10:58  |  Benjy 01/12/08   8.   Well done Haaretz - glad we cleared that one. 11:03  |  Allon 01/12/08   9.   I am so sorry 11:59  |  Gus 01/12/08

Read & React Amos Harel: After Mumbai, the war against terror has changed Responses: 52 EU document on Israel, Mideast: Re-open Orient House Responses: 235 Anshel Pfeffer: Israel, stop offending India over Mumbai Responses: 62 Pope praises Nazi-era pontiff accused of Shoah inaction Responses: 57 Israeli Opera to uphold Wagner ban over Nazi link Responses: 47 More Headlines 00:32 Six bodies of Mumbai Chabad victims arrive in Israel 00:15 Olmert: I'm convinced Hillary Clinton will advance Israel-U.S. relations 01:07 Parents of Mumbai terror victim: We may take Rivka's place as Chabad envoys 21:43 Olmert offers condolences to Indian PM over Mumbai deaths 23:09 Hamas tells Haaretz journalist Amira Hass to leave Gaza 21:45 Bush: My biggest regret is false intelligence on Iraq WMDs 01:02 Israel turns back Libyan ship bound for Gaza with aid 00:56 Fetus kept in formaldehyde for 11 years found in Jerusalem 14:06 Israeli Opera to uphold Wagner boycott over link to Nazis 14:36 Indian investigators: Mumbai attackers trained in Pakistan 21:45 Iran dismisses Israeli military threats as 'psychological warfare' 12:14 German firms seek to bypass Berlin sanctions on Iran 14:29 Body of Israeli Omri Kidron found 5 months after he disappeared in China 11:06 Israeli security accidentally intrudes on live Livni interview 02:32 Five Palestinians hurt in clashes with settlers in Hebron 09:46 Eight IDF soldiers among 25 nabbed in drug trafficking bust Previous Editions Select Day 01 dec 30 nov 28 nov 27 nov 26 nov 25 nov 24 nov 23 nov 21 nov 20 nov 19 nov 18 nov

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