Nariman House locked in property dispute

MUMBAI: Nariman House, also known as Chabad House, which was attacked by Pakistani terrorists on 26/11, has come into the possession of the court receiver owing to a bitter property dispute between the grandparents of Baby Moshe and the Chabad Lubavitch movement headquartered in New York.
Two large notices have been pasted on the compound wall and the facade of the building, formalizing a feud that some say was in the making for months.
Even as the Chabad headquarters put out their plan for renovating Nariman House last month, both sets of grandparents of Baby Moshe (whose parents, rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and Rivka, ran the Jewish shelter before being killed during 26/11) staked claim to the property in the Bombay city civil court and sought the right to renovate it. They alleged that the funds sought by Chabad from international sources for the repair work were not being granted.
On the other hand, Chabad's Mumbai representative, rabbi Yosef C Kantor, approached the court to stop the ongoing repairs, which the headquarters term "illegal". Civic authorities, who were apprised of the feud recently, issued a stop-work notice and also cut off electricity and water supply to the building.
Interestingly, none of the bitterness was apparent to outsiders as both parties were part of the Chabad India Trust and commemorated the first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks together.
Observers in Mumbai say the building belongs to the Chabad movement, but it was rabbi Gavriel who was responsible for turning it into a vibrant hub for visiting Jews. "Though it was not he who invested funds," says a prominent member of the community in Mumbai. "A good Samaritan decided to funnel his resources for a good cause when he found the property was available for a bargain."
The Israeli consulate did not comment on the matter.