Family: Man stabbed in Hanukkah attack may have brain damage
NEW YORK • A man wounded in the Hanukkah stabbings north of New York City might have permanent brain damage and be partially paralyzed for the rest of his life, his family said.
The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council released a statement from the family of Josef Neumann, 71, and a graphic photograph Wednesday showing severe head injuries he suffered Saturday at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, N.Y.
Four others were injured in the attack, which federal prosecutors say was a hate crime. The photograph shows an intubated Neumann with a swollen and disfigured face lying in a hospital bed. A gash to his head appears to have been stitched up.
Neumann’s family released the photograph for the world and “the Jewish community to understand the gravity of hate,” Yossi Gestetner, the council’s co-founder, said in an interview. Neumann has seven children.
“These things are vividly and viciously disturbing and have long-term consequences,” Gestetner said.
The 18-inch machete used in the attack penetrated Neumann’s skull, the statement said, adding that his “right arm has been shattered.”
“Our father’s status is so dire that no surgery has yet been performed on the right arm,” the statement said.
“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.”
The statement also called on Jewish people around the world to share their experiences with anti-Semitism on social media using the hashtag #MeJew.
“We shall not let this terrible hate-driven attack be forgotten,” the statement said, “and let us all work to eradicate all sorts of hate.”
Federal prosecutors have charged Grafton Thomas, 37, with five federal counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill with a dangerous weapon.
He also has pleaded not guilty to five state counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Authorities have said Thomas had handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic references.
Flower bouquets rest on the doorstep of a rabbi’s residence in Monsey, N.Y., after a stabbing Saturday night during a Hanukkah celebration.
