israelwarroom
On this day in 2019, an antisemitic and mentally unstable man attacked a Hanukkah party at the home of a Hasidic rabbi in Monsey. The man broke into the house and began stabbing people with a large knife, injuring five. Joseph Neumann suffered a skull fracture and was hospitalized unconscious and in critical condition for three months before he passed away. Attendees fought back, hitting the attacker with chairs. He fled and tried to enter the synagogue next door, but the doors had been locked; he then fled the scene by car. He was arrested hours later. Investigators found handwritten journals belonging to the attacker, Grafton E. Thomas, that espoused antisemitic views. They also recovered internet search history for phrases including "why did Hitler hate the Jews" and for Jewish temples in New York and New Jersey. Thomas was ruled incompetent to stand trial and has been hospitalized in a psychiatric center. His trial continues to be postponed while he is receiving psychiatric treatment. The Rockland County DA's office has vowed to prosecute Thomas as soon as he is deemed fit to stand trial.
