Man Dies Of Machete Injuries From Hanukkah Attack

MONSEY, NY — The man severely wounded in a machete attack Dec. 28 at a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey has died. Josef Neumann, 72, had been cut in the neck and sustained other injuries including a fractured skull and shattered arm.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II said he will seek an indictment for the charge of second-degree murder.

Rockland County Legislature Chairman Alden H. Wolfe and Public Safety Committee Chairman Aron Wieder urged all people to stay home and not attend the funeral service due to the COVID-19 virus and our efforts to slow the spread of the highly contagious disease. They expressed condolences to the family of the grandfather who died Sunday.

“As difficult as it may be, I am encouraging members of the community to STAY HOME to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Wolfe said. “It would be terrible to amplify a tragedy by putting others at risk."

Wieder also urged mourners to please stay home.

“The death of Josef Neumann is nothing less than tragic and a loss that is felt so deeply by so many,” Wieder said. “I offer my sincerest condolences to his family and I ask that we not make matters worse by giving this virus further opportunity to spread. Please, as hard as it is, stay home and help us in this fight to slow the spread. Do it in Josef Neumann’s honor. Do it for your family, your friends, your neighbors."

About 100 people were at the home of Rabbi Chaim Liebowitz Rottenberg when a man entered, slashed four people, then fled. A fifth person was injured in the melee. One of the celebrants took down the license plate of the van the attacker left in and reported it to police, who picked up the van's track on a traffic cam shortly afterward.

The driver and alleged attacker, Grafton Thomas of Greenwood Lake in Orange County, was arrested that night in New York City.

Thomas reportedly declared to dozens of assembled congregants, "no one is leaving," and attacked the group with an 18-inch machete. At least five victims were hospitalized with serious injuries. Neumann, a grandfather, was the worst hurt.

Thomas faces local and federal charges.

"I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Josef Neumann, who suffered brutal stab wounds after an attacker invaded the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg on the final night of Hanukkah three months ago," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "This repugnant attack shook us to our core, demonstrating that we are not immune to the hate-fueled violence that we shamefully see elsewhere in the country.

"The morning after that horrific night, I went to Rabbi Rottenberg's home and apologized on behalf of the family of New York and I promised him we would enact a first-in-the-nation law that calls this hate what it is: domestic terrorism," Cuomo said in his statement about Neumann's death. "White supremacists, anti-Semites, anti-LGBTQ white nationalists — these are Americans committing mass hate crimes against other Americans, and the punishment for their vile acts must fit their crimes. These acts of hate may not have started in New York, but they must end in New York.

"I am going to rename this legislation in honor of Mr. Neumann, and I am calling on the state legislature to pass it in the budget due April 1. We owe it to Mr. Neumann, his family and the entire family of New York to get it done now."

Thomas is currently being held in a federal detention center.

The DA's office will move as expeditiously as possible to present the indictment in front of a grand jury, given the new coronavirus outbreak.

"All of Rockland joins me in sending our deepest sympathies to the Neumann family and their friends," Walsh said. "We will not stand idle, and allow heinous crimes, to strike fear into our residents. Rest assured, my office will prosecute Grafton Thomas to the fullest extent of the law."