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Hanukkah Stabbing Victim Still Unsconcious And May Never Wake Up

Josef Neumann remains unconscious after being attacked during a Hanukkah celebration, and his daughter says his prognosis "is not good."
Posted at 3:49 PM, Jan 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-02 15:49:30-05

The daughter of Josef Neumann, who was injured in a stabbing at a Hanukkah celebration in New York last month, says he's still unconscious and that doctors are unsure if he will ever wake up.

"Do you understand that the prognosis right now is that he really may never, ever speak again?" said Nicky Kohen.

Neumann and four others were injured when a man with a machete made his way into a rabbi's home on the seventh night of Hanukkah. A witness says the attack could have been much worse.

"Yeah, it was truly a Hanukkah miracle. About 10 minutes earlier there was about 80 adults and I think 40 children altogether, between the guests and the rabbi's grandchildren. If he would have come 10 minutes earlier, the house would have been packed. I don't see a way we could have run."

Neumann's daughter told reporters that she wants her community to feel safe.

"I'm begging you, if you are watching this, please stand up and stop this hatred. It cannot keep going on."

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.