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Five Stabbed at Hanukkah Celebration; Five Killed in Louisiana Plane Crash; Somalia Suicide Car Bomb Attack Rocks Capital; U.S. Financial Markets Enjoy Profitable 2019. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 29, 2019 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): We are following the breaking news this hour just outside of New York City. Several people in Rockland County stabbed in a knife attack at a rabbi's home during a Hanukkah celebration.

Welcome to viewers in the U.S. and around world. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center.

Authorities say a suspect is in custody after stabbing five people in the community of Monsey, New York. At least two of the victims are reported to be in critical condition.

This attack again took place inside the home of an orthodox Jewish rabbi, where about 100 people came together to mark the seventh night of Hanukkah. One man said that the rabbi had just lit a candle when a stranger then burst in. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARON KOHN, WITNESS: I saw him walking by the door. I asked, who is coming in, in the middle of the night, with an umbrella. While I was saying that, he pulled it out from the thing.

And he started to run into the big room, which was on the left side. And I had thrown tables and chairs, that he should get out of here.

And it ended the guy was the carry arrest guy. He was bleeding here, bleeding in his hand, all over. I run into the other room because I tried to save my life. I saw him run down this way so I ran out.

(CROSSTALK)

KOHN: -- came along with me. They're still hysterical. What time is now, I don't even know the time now. And they're still hysterical right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: And now live to our CNN correspondent in Monsey, New York. Polo Sandoval on the scene.

What is the latest about what you're hearing inside that home and how the community there is reacting to it?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: George, it is certainly a question heavy on the minds of the people here, a very short drive from New York City, where a lot of people are asking exactly why their Jewish community was targeted.

As you mentioned, on the seventh night of Hanukkah as these members of the community were gathering in peace celebrating Hanukkah when, according to witnesses we've already heard from, this individual came in with a knife and began slashing away at individuals.

We now know five people were injured, taken to area hospitals. At least two critical, we're trying to learn more. Here at the scene, it is still extremely active. Law enforcement from around the region have arrived here as they begin this investigation.

But this certainly comes during a very difficult time for the Jewish community in New York City, where they've seen a string of anti- Semitic incidents reported into the NYPD. And so now this, of course, being the latest.

Governor Andrew Cuomo releasing a statement not long after this incident late Saturday night, saying he was horrified by this and also reiterating that there will be zero tolerance for any kind of anti- Semitic actions here.

So and also, pledging that anybody responsible will certainly be eventually prosecuted. Now who that individual is we do not know, only that that person was taken into custody or not long after the actual stabbing incident. Investigators certainly are going to try to get more information out of him.

In the meantime, here, George, the community is reeling with this very latest incident that just took place on what was supposed to be, obviously, a gathering of many members of the community, taking a terrible turn when this knife-wielding suspect made his way into this Hasidic rabbi's home.

HOWELL: You touched on this.

And I would ask if we can bring that graphic back up to view. It's important context.

There have been several incidents, several attacks. This, the latest attack, Polo, and it has raised a great deal of concern in the community about the attacks happening and about what's being done to stop them.

SANDOVAL: Absolutely. There has been this growing call coming from many of these Jewish communities, especially in Brooklyn after an average at least at least one of these incidents happening per day during the last week. Of course the latest taking place just yesterday, which would have

been incident number eight. So that, those numbers are certainly deeply disturbing.

But then those other previous incidents, some of which took place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, where Jewish individuals that were wearing traditionally religious attire were essentially confronted and attacked.

And authorities, obviously, are taking a close look at that footage, at surveillance video. They've released it in and around New York City hoping someone can identify them. But it leads to the question, why we're seeing these kinds of incidents, especially right now. There is quite a bit of speculation, a lot of theories right now.

The Anti-Defamation League, who I had an opportunity to speak to yesterday, believes that maybe there could be various old stereotypes resurfacing, also potentially a mental illness component among some of the suspects arrested in the latest string of incidents in New York City.

[03:05:00]

SANDOVAL: But the question is, how do authorities deal with that?

How do they ensure the protection of these members of the Jewish community in and around New York City, who are basically going about their daily lives when, in many cases, they have been approached, threatened and assaulted?

HOWELL: Polo Sandoval there live, 3:05 am on the East Coast. Give us a sense of what's happening there behind you. The scene as investigators look into this.

SANDOVAL: It is certainly still a very active crime scene behind me, of course. Police patrol cars still staged around the perimeter. We're about a 45-minute drive from the heart of New York City.

Some people who have relatives in Brooklyn perhaps affected by this incident. You can bet many are making their way here, trying to find out exactly what happened, trying to see if loved ones were affected or among the injured here.

The building you see behind me is the home, the rabbi's home, will be actually right next to it. You're not able to see it from our vantage point. This is as close as we can take you as the scene is still very much guarded by authorities as they try to piece this investigation together.

The main question here is exactly why this happened. New York state authorities promising that they will get to the bottom of it. Andrew Cuomo already sending his Hate Crime Task Force to the scene to try to get that answer for this community that badly needs it, especially as it was coming together, celebrating Hanukkah.

HOWELL: Our U.S. national correspondent, Polo Sandoval on the scene for us in Monsey, New York. We'll continue to stay in touch with you as you reach out to authorities there.

A short time ago my colleague, Natalie Allen asked how the Jewish community is responding to what happened in Monsey, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN BERNSTEIN, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: I got here before the crime scene was being established.

I had an opportunity to talk to first responders and law enforcement and meet the rabbi who was leading the celebration in his home. And I went across the street to his synagogue, where he continued to celebrate the Hanukkah holiday with his congregation, despite there was a horrific act that took place in his home moments before.

It is a horrific time for this community. Talking with so many of the community members, they're here around the crime scene, being sequestered as the FBI came and other law enforcement started to make the crime scene less accessible, clearly.

You know, more and more personal conversations about just the immense amount of fear right now that people are feeling that are openly orthodox. They know so many family members that live here in Monsey, have family in Brooklyn and what's taken place there over the past week, is so unprecedented with the series with anti-Semitic assaults.

And just a short time ago, having the act of anti-Semitic domestic terror that took place in Jersey City, where openly orthodox Jews were murdered in cold blood. Right now open orthodox Jews in the greater New York City area are feeling tremendous amounts of fear and want this to stop.

This has been an unrelenting amount of hate experienced over the last two years, especially in Brooklyn and Monsey had it. There's been an underreporting of anti-Semitic incidents in Monsey. And now things are ramping up here and we want law enforcement to do the best job they can.

Thank God they've been able to make an arrest. But to have it happen during Hanukkah, at a Hanukkah celebration, all these acts taking place over the holiday of Hanukkah has been devastating for the Jewish community here in the greater New York area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Again, we're following this situation that happened in Monsey, New York. We understand again several people in Rockland County, they were stabbed in this knife attack, this happening inside a rabbi's home during a Hanukkah celebration.

At least two of the victims are reportedly in critical condition. This attack, again, taking place inside of a home. The attacker burst inside where about 100 people had come together to mark the seventh night of Hanukkah.

Again, we've also heard from a witness, a witness who described what it was like inside, the fear that people certainly felt when this happened and then people inside that room doing their best to attack, to push back against this particular suspect. We understand the suspect was arrested in New York City.

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HOWELL: At this point, we don't have any new information on who is behind this. But we are speaking with authorities and will pass it on to you as we learn more.

Let's go back live to the scene now to get more context about what happened. Let's bring in Yossi Gestetner, the co-founder of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council.

Thank you for take being time to be with us. I know there's a lot going on here. Your group, the mission there, is to counter the defamation of the orthodox Jewish community. And on this day, there are so many questions to be answered about who is behind this attack during a Hanukkah celebration and why it happened.

YOSSI GESTETNER, ORTHODOX JEWISH PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: Correct, absolutely. First of all, thanks for having me. And I think you pretty much covers the details of the event, which is a couple hours ago at about 9:50 this evening. Someone stormed into the home of a Hasidic rabbi.

It was in the middle of a Hanukkah celebration with about 50 or 60 of his followers. Started stabbing people, five in total, two critical, including a senior person in his 70s who is very critical. One of the stabbing victims is actually an adult child of the rabbi.

What is comforting for me to see is, first of all, the swift and strong response from everyone and everywhere, law enforcement, the local town police, the county. The police chief was there. The sheriff was there. The state senator was on the ground.

I was contacted by other officials who are more on a regional level, weren't able to be here earlier this evening. We had here members of other Jewish organizations, orthodox or otherwise.

So this is very important. Anytime an attack takes place that, at the scene, at the moment, there's a strong response, including from media, to shine the light on this event. That's the most important thing.

Secondly, what I hope is, whether it's here or in Brooklyn, especially in Brooklyn, that the talk about stepping up security should be more than a 15-hour spiel. In Brooklyn, I saw a photo of an empty bus in front of a congregation, taking up two parking spots, I'm not sure what that bus accomplishes.

Thirdly, I think it would be very helpful throughout the region but especially in Brooklyn, that law enforcement and officials and authorities should release a list of the incidents, side by side with the consequences to those perpetrators, that those things shouldn't be just another story. People need to understand that what they do has consequences. And finally, after the attack, after the scene was cleared from the

victims, you know what the rabbi did?

He went into his congregation next door and continued with the celebration. And that's spirit that I'm, you know, proud to see and proud to point out. The orthodox community, people in the orthodox community will not be deterred by any type of attack, whether it's bigoted, anti-Semitic, targeted or otherwise.

And I think a consistent response from law enforcement and government officials, as I just laid out, is very helpful. And obviously, there are people in the community, especially administrators of schools, who are thinking how they can make schools safer for the students, especially after Jersey City.

HOWELL: I do want to touch on a point that you raised here. You say that one of the victims, an adult child of the rabbi but do want to point out that, per our reporting, we have not received confirmation of that.

At the same time, we do understand that those victims are reported in critical condition. Look, I want to get a sense from you as well. We have a graphic that I want to share with our viewers, because it's important to point this context out.

There have been several other incidents, right?

December 23rd, December 24th; December 25th, Christmas Day; December 26th, 27th and 28th.

Do you get a sense that enough is being done by authorities to handle these situations?

Because again, you point out the consequences should be put forward. People need to understand what happened in these cases so as to prevent others from happening again.

GESTETNER: Correct. So to an extent, I think authorities, law enforcement, government officials are trying to do the best that they can. But I think it's not enough.

As we just discussed, I have no idea. I don't think anyone has any clue what exactly are the consequences for the dozens of people who have committed attacks in Brooklyn. I don't know.

And my guess is that if more people would know, especially youngsters who are behind some of these attacks.

[03:15:00]

GESTETNER: They will understand that these things have consequences.

So why isn't this list out yet from the city, from the Brooklyn D.A.?

I don't know who has the list and who can give us this list and publicize this list and give it to the media. That would be important.

Another thing is, I understand that it's impossible for the NYPD -- and they're doing a good job -- but I understand it's impossible for them to have a police officer at every congregation, at every yeshiva.

But putting up a bus, taking up a couple parking spots, is not going to cut a deal (ph). So I'm not attacking anyone in law enforcement. I think people generally try to do the best that they can. But at some level, these things need to move into overdrive and that's, sadly, another case of this point.

HOWELL: And within the community itself, what do you do?

Your group's mission, again, it is to counter defamation of the orthodox Jewish community.

How do you help people to understand the concerns, educate, make sure people understand what to do to protect themselves, to be aware at the same time?

How do you spread that message to others outside the community?

GESTETNER: Correct. So correct, so year-round we try to focus a lot on information, that when people, the media, the press who will have a story about an orthodox Jewish community, in the past, anyone who is familiar with New York media, up until 5-10 years ago, when you wanted to run a story about similar issues, you don't have anyone to talk to.

They didn't have information, they didn't a fuller understanding of stuff. I think potentially led to unfair reporting, not maliciously but just a byproduct. So we try to assist with that.

On social media, there are a lot of groups and agitators who are -- we call them the Hasidic obsessed hate groups. Every day, every post, especially suburban New York and New Jersey, you don't see so much in the city itself, they're focused and obsessed on orthodox Jews. Every problem, they blame on Hasidim. And everything about Hasidim is wrong.

So we try to counter that with information. We do a lot of research on our website, so when people want to read and know about the orthodox Jewish community, there's information out there.

And sadly, in situations like these, there was a lot of, I think, panic. The moments after the attack, three attackers, 50 people stabbed. I live seven minutes from this place. So I decided to come out first to ascertain the facts.

Let's get the facts out there. It helps the public. It helps people in the community and it helps the media to get things out there accurately. And again, I appreciate the swift reaction from law enforcement and government officials and especially media in this specific case.

HOWELL: Yossi Gestetner joining us. Thank you for your time. And again you're watching breaking news coverage of people who were

stabbed inside a rabbi's home during a Hanukkah celebration. More news on this as we continue to follow it after the break. Stand by.

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HOWELL: More now on the breaking news this hour. A stabbing at a rabbi's home in a community north of New York City. Police say that they do have a suspect in custody.

Again, this happening in Monsey, New York. Five people were stabbed as they came together to celebrate the seventh night of Hanukkah. An orthodox Jewish organization says all the victims are Hasidic Jews. The governor has activated the state's Hate Crime Task Force.

Let's get some perspective. Cedric Alexander joins us by phone. The former Dekalb County public safety director in Georgia was also a member of President Obama's task force on 21st century policing.

It's good to have you on the phone with us.

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, FORMER DEKALB COUNTY POLICE CHIEF: Good morning, George.

HOWELL: As you understand the facts, what happened in this case and a suspect in custody, how do you see law enforcement moving forward on this?

ALEXANDER: This is a horrific case, one certainly that should not have happened and one in which I believe all of us as Americans in this country, regardless who we are, we just find totally appalling and totally stand with the Hasidic community there in New York and across the country.

This is absolutely horrible. As far as law enforcement is concerned, you have one of the best agencies in the country, NYPD and others, who are taking an active involvement in working with local law enforcement there in Monsey in order to identify those persons that may be involved.

Even though there's one person in custody, it is without a doubt their investigation is going to be broad. They're going to use all their intelligence and support agencies around them and gather all the evidence and make sure that anyone, if there are other individuals that may be involved in this, they're certainly going to seek them out.

And they will be found. But law enforcements have a tremendous job ahead of them as they continue to collect evidence and talk to witnesses, talk to victims and be able to share information with each other to make sure that, whoever may have, whoever else may have been behind this attack, certainly is brought to justice.

HOWELL: Cedric, the questions are being raised whether this would raise, rise to the level of a hate crime. Help us understand if you would, the definition of what it means to be a hate crime and, in your view, whether this would fit within that category.

ALEXANDER: Well, certainly those in the legal community are going to take a very strong look at the law in terms of what it states and if this crime meets the elements of that law, where an attack against a person or individual or group of people as it results of their race, their background, their culture or whatever the case may have to be, appears to be the target.

[03:25:00]

ALEXANDER: It is still early in this investigation. Should they choose to file hate charges against this individual, it certainly will be based on the statute there in New York in terms of what, how it's outlined.

But you're going to see some very strong and swift and expert action take place in making sure and determining, if this is indeed a hate crime, adequate charges will be filed. If it turns out it is not a hate crime or something else, it will certainly meet those elements of some type of crime and justice will be sought after.

HOWELL: Cedric, I do want to bring in this context.

If I could ask our director, again, to put forward those incidents, the several incidents that have happened in the month of December where we understand attacks, you know, that have happened and there has been some scrutiny, people questioning criminal justice reform there in New York.

Some people saying that, you know, not enough is being done to people who were involved, who perpetrated those attacks. Your views on that conversation, as that is bound to ensue here in the days to come.

ALEXANDER: Well, I mean, certainly, as we look at criminal justice reform in that state and across this country, some concern is certainly being brought up by local law enforcement in these communities, who have to seek justice for those who may be committing these crimes.

It is, can be a double-edged sword. Certainly, we want to see reform take place in this country. But at the same time, we have to be absolutely certain and sure those who may be a real danger or threat to this community are not released back into the community.

And that's what you're going to hear a lot from law enforcement in that state there and across the country. And it's also a concern for the entire judicial system. You've also had some judges who have some very strong concerns as it relates to criminal justice reform.

I cannot say we can apply this to this particular case. We don't know enough about the person who has been charged tonight. But if you -- but in a general context, as it relates to criminal justice reform, all of us want to be sure.

And we have to be certain that, if anyone is released back in the community, they're certainly not going to do harm to anyone else. And this is a primary concern for law enforcement and those who are out there, doing it every day.

They certainly do understand the frustration of seeing people who are being arrested and who may be released too early. So there's still a lot of conversation and discussion that is going on around this issue.

And we got to find some resolve to it so that communities across this country, as they are in the state of New York or anywhere else, people feel safe in their communities as we, as the country continues to move towards reform as it relates to criminal justice.

HOWELL: A lot of questions, certainly being raised and, Cedric, to your point, very early in this particular incident but no one knows the inner workings of law enforcement better than Cedric Alexander. We appreciate your time today, thank you.

ALEXANDER: Thank you, George.

HOWELL: In other news, a huge win in a football playoff match is being overshadowed by a tragedy shortly before that game. A small plane headed for the LSU-Oklahoma game crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisiana. Five of the six people on board were killed.

Among the victims a sports reporter, the daughter-in-law of one of LSU's coaches. Our Natasha Chen reports from near the scene of that crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the victims of this flight was Carley McCord, a 30-year-old sports journalist from WDSU, a station that also suffered another tragedy. They lost another one of their anchors in a different plane crash a few months ago.

Along with McCord there were four others killed in this incident. The fire chief says one person from the plane did survive. That person is being treated right now for injuries. Another three people are hospitalized right now, being treated for serious burns, considered life threatening.

And separately, another two people were inside that post office. They were treated for smoke inhalation but are expected to be OK. So a lot of people affected here.

[03:30:00]

CHEN: A very heartbreaking moment especially, as you mentioned, that it seemed they were on their way to Atlanta with McCord trying to go see this game. And when this happened, it created a lot of chaos here, knocked out power for about 200 customers, including the Walmart here. We also see some of these utilities still trying to repair some cable

lines, phone, TV cable lines and such. And so we are waiting for more information, of course, and to see how those surviving people are doing as they're being treated in the hospital and, of course, waiting for investigators to arrive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Again, following the breaking news this hour, the knife attack in New York state and reaction coming in from around the world. Some Israeli lawmakers say think are devastated by the anti-Semitic stabbings that happened in Monsey, New York, and they are asking how U.S. authorities plan to get to grips on what looks to be a disturbing trend.

We have a live report from Jerusalem as CNN NEWSROOM continues the breaking news after this break.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

HOWELL: Welcome back to viewers in the U.S. and around the world. We continue following the breaking news out of New York state.

Police in Monsey, New York, are on the scene of a mass stabbing that happened during a Hanukkah celebration. We understand at least five people were wounded in that attack, two people critically.

The suspect is in custody. According to witnesses, about 100 people were inside the home of an orthodox Jewish rabbi.

[03:35:00]

HOWELL: The rabbi had just lit a candle when the attacker burst into the home. New York's governor has ordered the state's Hate Crime Task Force to investigate the incident. The attack Saturday is the latest in a string of anti-Semitic attacks, most of them happening in New York City.

Take a look here. You get a sense, so many dates in December, nine in total, all in less than a week. Some of them relatively minor altercations but, taken all together, the anti-Semitic slurs, the attempts at intimidation, the physical violence, they present the emergence of a disturbing trend.

And this all comes after a deadly shooting earlier this month in Jersey City in the neighboring state of New Jersey, where three people were killed inside a kosher supermarket when two suspects opened fire there.

Many attacks that we're talking about here and it has struck a chord with Jewish communities around the world. Reaction coming in from Jerusalem and we are going live to Jerusalem, where Oren Liebermann is joining us.

What are you hearing?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, we expect a response from Benjamin Netanyahu any minute now. He has his weekly cabinet meeting and I suspect this will be one of the first things he addresses, if not the absolute first thing he addresses.

We're hearing from Israel's president, Reuben Rivlin, who says, "Shocked and outraged by the terrible attack in New York. We are praying for the rapid recovery of those injured. The rise of anti- Semitism is not just a Jewish problem and certainly not just the state of Israel's problem.

"We must work together to confront this evil which is raising its head again and is a genuine threat around the world."

This is something I've seen reactions to, other attacks on Jewish holidays. One in Pittsburgh, the one in San Diego came on the Sabbath, this one coming shortly after the Sabbath ended, on the seventh night of Hanukkah.

The chairman of the Jewish Agency said this attack has turned Hanukkah, the festival of lights into the festival of darkness.

But others have expressed strength or belief in the strength of the Jewish community, saying nothing will stop the Jews of Monsey, New York, or Jews from around the world from lighting the eighth candle on the final night of Hanukkah. And that is where the Jewish community will look now.

Other Israeli politicians have weighed in, saying they wish speedy recovery to those injured and urging American authorities to act not only against the suspect in this attack but against anyone else who would raise their hands against Jews.

HOWELL: We just mentioned what happened in Jersey City. Let's not forget Pittsburgh and San Diego. It does seem that these attacks are happening all too often.

LIEBERMANN: It certainly does. And I've sat here, watching the reactions all too often for that matter, especially in Pittsburgh and San Diego. That was right as the Sabbath ended here.

News of this attack in Monsey, New York, coming just as Sunday morning started. It is always a shock here to hear of these attacks in a place where Jews consider themselves safe, in the United States.

It's not any single group or any strain of Judaism being attacked here. In Pittsburgh, I believe it's a conservative synagogue; San Diego was a Chabad synagogue. Monsey, New York, is a Hasidic town.

These are all across the Jewish spectrum being targeted. Jersey City, another one of the incidents we've been speaking about, that is why the U.S. and Israel are talking about the need for acting against anti-Semitism broadly, not targeting any specific attacker or the perpetrator of the attack but getting to the root of the problem.

As one of the Israeli leaders here put it, to root this out and deal with it in terms of a big picture response and a big picture education about anti-Semitism.

HOWELL: Again, Oren Liebermann reporting. In the upcoming cabinet meeting, it is likely we will hear from Benjamin Netanyahu, who may give a statement on this. We'll stay in touch with Oren, of course, and bring you that statement as we hear it.

Other news we're following around the world this day, in Somalia, another form of an attack that is becoming all too familiar, at least 79 people who were killed in the capital city on Saturday. This when a vehicle that was laced with explosives was set off.

Now the country's prime minister says the nation is in a state of war with terrorists. Let's go now live to neighboring Kenya, where our Farai Sevenzo is covering it.

Farai, good to have you. The place where this happened is important because it is an entryway into the city of Mogadishu.

FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Compliments of the season to you.

It's a story we've been reporting on since yesterday. It keeps on rambling, because no one has claimed responsibility.

[03:40:00]

SEVENZO: But we know that it bears all the hallmarks of the Al Qaeda affiliated group, al Shabaab. That is the only terror group operating in Somalia.

It is an important checkpoint and, as usual, these attacks come at checkpoints, hotels, where politicians and government people gather. They come indiscriminately, wherever they may.

Remember January 15, 2019, al Shabaab attacked a hotel in Kenya, thousands of miles away from Mogadishu. But the key thing is it's the Somalis suffering from these attacks.

We know that this checkpoint was very near a university. So, without doubt, young students who were hoping to be the brightest and the best of Somali society, will be among the dead. There's 79 dead. We know over 100 injured. And this is their modus operandi.

The terror group has not gone, despite the many efforts of the United States forces and their drone attacks. The African Union troops on the ground in Somalia, these attacks continue to occur.

HOWELL: Farai Sevenzo, giving us insight into who was injured, into who was killed, 79 people killed and more than 100 injured. Thank you for the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back after the break.

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[03:45:00]

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HOWELL: We continue following the breaking news this hour out of New York state. That's where five orthodox Jews have been stabbed while they came together to celebrate the seventh night of Hanukkah inside a rabbi's home.

A witness says there were at least 100 people inside when a man burst into the home and pulled out a knife. This happening in the town of Monsey, New York, in Rockland County, north of New York City, as you see there on the map. Police do say that they have a suspect in custody.

My colleague, Natalie Allen, spoke with Evan Bernstein of the Anti- Defamation League last hour. You are heard just a bit of that interview earlier. She also asked him about the underreporting of anti-Semitic attacks. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERNSTEIN: One of the issues we have in the openly orthodox community, the Hasidic community, is traditionally the way people report to our audit, the way we get our information at the ADL, that has been tracking anti-Semitism since 1979, they either call us directly or especially now go online. We get most of our reports that way.

A lot of the members of the Hasidic community don't have the technology available to them. Also, they are sometimes fearful of dealing with traditional law enforcement or even agencies like ours that have been around for over 100 years. There's a disconnect.

We're trying very, very hard to work with leadership in the orthodox communities so they feel comfortable enough to report. One thing we're trying to explain to them, is when you report to an organization like ours, it works so directly with law enforcement. Law enforcement then has a better picture of what's taking place in a given community.

So this underreporting, people take it and don't do anything with it. They talk to their family and don't report it. They don't report it to the police or anybody. It really, like a tree falling in the woods, it doesn't help the community.

The more they report, the more resources they get, the more we work with law enforcement to make sure they get those resources and elected officials to make sure there's funding to help keep the communities secure. That's something we are trying very, very hard to do. I can't tell you how many people in the community over the last few

years I've spoken to, that have said, things have happened to them. Horrific things happened to them. And yet, they don't feel compelled to report it out of fear, out of fear of retaliation or really feeling like no one is going to do anything and nobody cares.

We're trying so hard to be on the ground, to work with leadership and turn that around and make it so reporting can be accessible and open.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: We'll be right back after this.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

Just a few days until the close of one year and the start of 2020. And as we look back at a year in review, the U.S. financial markets had a strong run. Here's a look now at how we got here.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very first trading day of 2019. Just over 1 percent on the Dow. It's not looking very good.

RICHARD QUEST, CNNMONEY EDITOR AT LARGE: And the CNN Business Fear & Greed Index is at extreme fear.

PAUL LA MONICA, CNNMONEY DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it's too soon to say whether or not the Feds should raise rates two times, three times, maybe pause for the rest of the year.

QUEST: About 10:30, look how the SNP suddenly roars up even more. That is on the back of Jerome Powell's comments.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Jay Powell at this roundtable saying it was almost like music to traders' ears. We're going to go ahead and be patient when it comes to raising rates.

JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: There is no preset path for policy. We will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves.

BIANCA NOBILO(?), CNN CORRESPONDENT: Homestretch suggests a U.S.- China trade pact may be nearing completion with a signing ceremony possible later this month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president sees the stock market falling. It's clearly affected him and he's told his guys, go get me a deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All it took was two tweets from President Trump to send markets into a tailspin.

QUEST: Markets tumbled after the U.S. president made a new promise to hike tariffs on China.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was the opening bell at the New York stock exchange and, of course, the Nasdaq market with ridesharing app Lyft making its stock market debut.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lyft shares falling 12 percent on the second day of trading.

QUEST: Uber has just started trading on the New York stock exchange and the share prices have fallen.

LA MONICA: Clearly the timing was not great for Uber to be going public while the market is falling on China fears. Lyft is plunging.

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: TGIF or should I say TG high F. Yes, I'm talking about record highs.

QUEST: Stocks are surging, with hopes of a rate cut.

The Fed cuts rates for the first time in a decade and insists it's not simply caving in to pressure from President Trump.

POWELL: We never take into account political considerations. There's no place in our discussions for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump has been tweeting this morning. Let me show you what he said.

"The Federal Reserve should get other interest rates down to zero or less, a once in a lifetime opportunity that we are missing because of 'Boneheads.'"

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jay Powell had just lowered U.S. interest rates for the second time in two months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the last hour the central bank announcing its third interest rate cut this year. The Fed says that motivated by global economic uncertainty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: China just announcing a phase one trade deal with the United States.

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China calling this achieving major progress.

TRUMP: That's going to be one of the great deals ever and it's going to ultimately lead to the opening of China.

QUEST: Tonight a wave of optimism sweeps across global markets. The trade breakthrough between the U.S. and China boosting the Dow, the Nasdaq and S&P, all to record in today highs.

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HOWELL: And continuing with the breaking news that we're following, a suspect is in custody after a brutal knife attack against worshippers celebrating Hanukkah.

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HOWELL: At least five people were wounded, two of those people critically. It was the seventh night of Hanukkah. About 100 people came together inside the home of an orthodox Jewish rabbi in Monsey, New York, when the attack took place. That community is in Rockland County, north of New York City.

New York's governor has ordered the state's Hate Crime Task Force to investigate the incident.

Let's reset at we continue to follow the breaking news out of New York state. Our correspondent on the ground there gathering more details and more on how that community is reacting. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. CNN NEWSROOM live continues after the break.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

HOWELL: We are following the breaking news out of New York state. Several people there stabbed during a Hanukkah celebration near New York City.

Welcome to viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Here's what we know at this point.

The attack took place late Saturday in Monsey, New York, a community 30 miles to the north of New York City. The Jewish community was celebrating the seventh night of Hanukkah and about 100 people had come together inside the home of an orthodox Jewish rabbi.