One Year After Attack, Jewish
Community Embraces Self-Defense
By Cam Edwards. December 31, 2020
It was December 28th, 2019 when a disturbed man entered a home in Monsey, New York where folks were gathering for a Hanukkah celebration and used a knife to stab five attendees. In the months since, one of the victims died from his injuries, the attacker has managed to avoid federal charges on the basis of his mental condition, and many members of the Jewish community in Monsey have embraced their Second Amendment rights.
According to Forward, a number of Monsey residents have applied for a gun license in the wake of the stabbing attack, including a 28-year old named Abe, who says there's been a sea change in attitudes towards armed self-defense among his friends and neighbors.
Abe, a soon-to-be father of three, started the process to get his firearm license before the attack, but didn't follow up at first. "It wasn't something that was ever a priority," he said. But after the tragedy, "everybody woke up and started their filing process," he told Haaretz. "There are quite a few of us – some people might be surprised," he added. "In my shul, on a regular Shabbes it's a shul of 40 to 50 people – six of us carry guns, and these are all recent certifications."
On the night of the attack, Yanky Fligman, 29, who was born and raised in Monsey, was at his father's Hanukkah party when his phone rang and he heard the shocking news. As a volunteer first-responder in his community, people often turn to him for information.
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"Self-defense is a human right, and I'm glad to see so many men and women in the Jewish community taking steps to be able to protect themselves from an attack."
