Rabbi and Hanukkah guests attacked by knife-wielding assailant in Anti-Semitism-ridden New York
by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – An attack on a rabbi’s Hanukkah party Saturday evening in the Jewish neighborhood of Monsey, New York left 5 people with stab wounds and 2 in critical condition, as New York officials called the incident terrorism.
Rabbi Chaim Leibish Rottenberg’s residence was broken into by Grafton Thomas, 37, who after the melee that ensued went toward the local synagogue, fleeing the scene when he discovered it was locked.
Governor Andrew Cuomo called the break-in and stabbings “an act of domestic terrorism,” the NYPD apprehending Thomas later that evening after a 2-hour search and charging him with 5 counts of attempted murder.
Anti-semitic incidents in New York have seen a 50% increase in the first 9 months of 2019 compared with the same time period last year, with 163 anti-Jewish hate crimes having occurred up to September.