Slain rabbi's father to lead NYC ceremony

updated 2:14 p.m. ET Dec. 22, 2008

NEW YORK - The father of the rabbi who was killed along with his wife in the Mumbai terror attacks will lead a Hanukkah ceremony at the Statue of Liberty.

Rabbi Nachman Holtzberg will be joined by leaders of national Jewish organizations at the menorah lighting ceremony Tuesday, the third night of Hanukkah.

Holtzberg's son, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, and his wife, Rivka, were among scores killed last month in a rampage by suspected Islamic militants. The couple ran a Chabad Lubavitch center in the Indian city of Mumbai.

The Tuesday ceremony is part of a nationwide "Unite the Lights" campaign to mourn the victims of the Mumbai attack while promoting acts of kindness.

Nachman Holtzberg and his wife, Frida, attended a memorial ceremony for their son and daughter-in-law on Sunday in West Hempstead. Holtzberg called on the 200 mourners to help strengthen the Jewish presence in Mumbai by building a bigger Chabad center there.

"You don't need to fight against darkness," he said. "A little light spreads."

Tuesday's menorah-lighting ceremony will take place at 5:15 p.m. at the foot of the Statue of Liberty.

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