New York law enforcement officials say a suspect is in custody over the stabbing of five people at a rabbi's home during the celebration of the seventh night of Hanukkah Saturday night.
The attack took place as about 70 people gathered at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, north of New York City, to celebrate Hanukkah.
Police Chief Brad Weidel said Sunday the suspect behind the attack faces five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary.
President Donald Trump called the attack "horrific." "We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism. Melania and I wish the victims a quick and full recovery," he wrote on Twitter.
New York police said the suspect stabbed and wounded five people before fleeing in a vehicle. This is the latest and most violent in a string of anti-semitic attacks in the greater New York City area in the last few days, according to law enforcement officials.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said it was "about the 13th incident of anti-Semitism in New York over the past several weeks during the period of the high holidays."
Cuomo visited Rabbi Rottenberg's home where the stabbings took place and called it an act of domestic terrorism.
"Let's call it what it is, these people are domestic terrorists. And the law should reflect that. And they should be punished, as if it was an act of terrorism," he said.
He also said the act is where "intolerance meets ignorance meets illegality."
Monsey is a Rockland County town about 56 kilometers north of New York City and is home to thousands of Orthodox Jews.
Aron Kohn, 65, was at the rabbi’s home and told The New York Times he was praying for his life.
"He started attacking people right away as soon as he came in the door. We didn't have time to react at all," Kohn said.
The website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, chabad.org, reported witnesses account who said the "individual wearing something obscure on his face."
New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was "deeply disturbed" by the events in Monsey.
"There is zero tolerance for acts of hate of any kind and we will continue to monitor this horrific situation," she said on Twitter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said on Twitter Sunday "Israel strongly condemns the recent displays of antisemitism including the vicious attack at the home of a rabbi in Monsey, New York, during Chanukah."
"We send our best wishes for recovery to the wounded. We will cooperate however possible with the local authorities in order to assist in defeating this phenomenon. We offer our assistance to every country," he added.
The Saturday night stabbings are the latest in a string of attacks targeting Jews in the region, including a massacre at a kosher grocery store in New Jersey earlier this month.
Back in April 2019, a gunman killed a female rabbi and wounded three people during Sabbath services at Congregation Chabad in Poway, near San Diego, California, on the last day of Passover.
Another gunman killed 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history, six months prior to that.
The rabbi's home is not far from the New Jersey state line and one of several in the Hudson Valley that has seen an influx of Hasidic Jews in recent years.
Hanukkah commemorates the 2nd century B.C. victory of Judah Maccabee and followers in a revolt against armies of the Seleucid Empire.
