Stabbing victim dies 3 months after attack at Hanukkah celebration in New York

A New York man severely injured in a stabbing during Hanukkah last year has died.

Josef Neumann, 72, was injured in a machete attack in Monsey, New York, during a Hanukkah celebration, his daughter Nicky Kohen told CNN Sunday night.

He died of his injuries Sunday, Kohen said.

Neumann was one of five people assaulted in the attack on December 28 and was the most severely injured, his daughter said.

Dozens of people were gathered at Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg’s Monsey home to celebrate the holiday.

Rottenberg’s son had just lit a menorah when Grafton Thomas, 37, ran into the house with an 18-inch machete and yelled “No one is leaving,” before attacking those in the home, federal prosecutors said.

Thomas pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder and was charged with a federal hate crime in January.

Michael Sussman, an attorney for Thomas told CNN that his client was hospitalized several times in 2019 and may have suffered a hallucination during the night of the attack.

Neumann sustained multiple stab wounds to his neck, arms and head, one of which penetrated his brain.

In February, he underwent surgery to have breathing and feeding tubes implanted.

Those who knew Neumann described him a compassionate man.

Yisroel Kraus, who was also a guest at the rabbi’s home the night of the attack, told CNN in January that he considered Neumann a mentor and “incredibly kind human being.”

“One of the most selfless people I know,” Kraus said. “Since I knew him, he was a very poor man. He never had a dime to his name and always goes around collecting money for other poor families. It was never about himself.”