Worshipper Stabbed With Screwdriver Inside Kiryas Joel Synagogue
A non-Jewish custodian was arrested in the stabbing of a 35-year-old Jewish man inside a synagogue in Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic village in New York State.
Jae Kyung Lee, 56, who works for the haredi Orthodox Charidim Synagogue, allegedly stabbed Eliezer Wolner on Wednesday afternoon, JP Updates reported. A State Police official told JTA that the weapon was a screwdriver.
According to Hudson Valley News 12, New York State Police said Wolner, who was treated for minor wounds, had just finished praying when he was attacked.
Lee, who was charged with assault in the second degree, is in police custody and was expected to face a hearing on Wednesday night.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
