Members of the Jewish community gather outside the home of rabbi Chaim Rottenbergin Monsey, in New York on December 29, 2019 after a machete attack that took place earlier outside the rabbi’s home during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah (Kena Betancur)
<p>Monsey (United States) (AFP) – When a machete-wielding intruder stormed into a rabbi’s house in a New York suburb during a Jewish festival late Saturday, Joseph Gluck fought back.</p><p>"He was a big, husky, guy," said 30-year-old Gluck on Sunday, recalling that the attacker wore a scarf covering his face.</p><p>"I could only see his forehead and his eyes. He came in wielding a big knife, sword-like machete."</p><p>Gluck was one of several people at the rabbi’s property in Monsey, Rockland County, during celebrations for Hanukkah.</p><p>"He started hitting people right and left," continued Gluck, adding that the attacker did not say anything as he slashed victims.</p><p>"He came into the dinner room; he hit somebody there. He hit somebody in the kitchen and then he came back into the dining room," Gluck added.</p><p>The witness added that the weapon had a big handle and the attacker just "swung it back and forth."</p><p>"Everyone was screaming and panicking and shouting ‘out out out.’ It was chaos," Gluck said.</p><p>Gluck said he shouted at the attacker to try to get him to stop knifing others. </p><p>"He didn’t, so I threw a coffee table at the guy. Then he started to come after me," Gluck told reporters.</p><p>The attacker followed him out of the house.</p><p>"He started to scream ‘Hey you, I’ll get you.’ I screamed for everybody to move away, so that all the people wouldn’t get hurt.’"</p><p>Gluck said he then saw the attacker try to enter a synagogue next door to the rabbi’s house but he found the door locked.</p><p>"I didn’t know how many people were in the synagogue. I just wanted to make sure that God forbid he shouldn’t go into the synagogue."</p><p>Quick-thinking Gluck said he noted down the license plate of the car and handed it to police. Police later arrested a suspect.</p><p>Victims were rushed to nearby hospitals. There were no official details on their injuries.</p><p></p><p>- ‘Angry and scared’ -</p><p></p><p>The attack happened at about 10:00 pm on Saturday, the seventh night of Hanukkah.</p><p>It was the latest in a spate of attacks on the Jewish community in the New York area in recent weeks.</p><p>There was a solemn mood in Monsey, a leafy, well-to-do town, on Sunday morning as worshippers attended synagogues to pray for the victims.</p><p>"We never thought anything like this could happen here," Joel Spitzer, who lives opposite the rabbi, told AFP.</p><p>He says he now lives in fear of future attacks.</p><p>"It’s always in the back of your mind. What’s preventing it from happening again?" he said.</p><p>Rockland has the largest Jewish population per capita of any US county, with 31.4 percent, or 90,000 Jewish residents.</p><p>Spitzer added that he wanted to buy a gun to protect himself and said it was a worrying time for the community.</p><p>Earlier this month a shooting at a kosher deli in Jersey City killed six people including two suspects.</p><p>"One is more than enough but this is too many," he said.</p><p>Another resident, who asked not to be named, said members of the Jewish community felt "angry and scared."</p><p>"It’s a very nice community here. It’s always felt secure. This attack is completely shocking," he added.</p><p></p>

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.