Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 28, 2020

The 72-year-old has opened his eyes and is breathing on his own.

By: Aaron Sull

The condition of a victim in the New York stabbing attack last Chanukah is improving, reported Yeshiva World News on Tuesday.

According to the report, Josef Neumann has opened his eyes and is breathing on his own.

Doctors are not optimistic about his chances to regain consciousness, and if our father does miraculously recover partially, doctors expect that he will have permanent damage to the brain; leaving him partially paralyzed and speech-impaired for the rest of his life, his family said in a statement.

On Dec. 28, 2019, Grafton Thomas stormed into the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg in Monsey, NY and hacked the 72-year-old and four other Orthodox Jews with a machete during a Chanukah party.

Neumann sustained serious injuries to his brain, neck, and right arm.

On Jan. 3, Thomas was indicted on six counts of attempted murder and a federal hate crimes charge. The charges carry a maximum of 25 years in state prison.

However, a forensic psychiatrists evaluation earlier this month says Thomas is unfit to stand trial because he suffers from schizophrenia, experiences hallucinations, and hears voices, reports lohud.com an affiliate of The USA Today Network.

The report also notes that even if the court rules that Thomas is competent to stand trial, his defense team could argue that hes not guilty by virtue of mental illness at the time of the attack.

If the court finds Thomas unfit to stand trial, he would be sent to a psychiatric facility until hes found able to understand the charges against him.

According to local police, a man (Grafton Thomas) entered the Rabbis home in Monsey, pulled out a machete and began to stab people. Five victims were hospitalized, two in critical condition.

The victims of the attack were Hassidic Jews who were reportedly gathered at the synagogue, known as Rabbi Rottenburgs Shul, for a Chanukah party. The synagogue is located in Rockland County, approximately an hour from New York City.

Multiple reports identified the perpetrator as a black man with a scarf on his face, and a description of the vehicle he used to get away was given to local law enforcement, which later arrested a suspect matching the description.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin tweeted at the time that he was shocked and dismayed by the terrible terror attack in New York.

Our prayers for a speedy recovery go out to the victims. The rising anti-Semitism is not only a problem for Jews and certainly not for Israel alone. We must work together to confront this evil which is, again and again, raising its head and represents a real danger to the entire world, he wrote.

Yisrael Beytenu leader, Member of Knesset (MK) Avigdor Liberman, also wished the victims of the Monsey stabbing a quick recovery and added that the solution to anti-Semitism is for them to immigrate to Israel.

Again and again, we witness to the horrific consequences of anti-Semitism, this time in Monsey, New York. Alongside the deep sorrow and wishes for a speedy recovery to those wounded in the attack, it is important to know that the primary solution to this phenomenon is immigration to Israel, he tweeted. (World Israel News)

Read the rest here:

Condition of New York Chanukah Stabbing Victim Improves - The Jewish Voice

Category: Synagogue
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