Fire bombing at Reno temple under investigation

Thursday, Dec. 2, 1999 | 9:43 a.m.

A Molotov cocktail was thrown at a window of Temple Emanu El about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said. The glass shattered, but the makeshift bomb failed to break through the window. Instead, it bounced onto the asphalt and singed bricks under the window.

The FBI is treating the case as a possible hate crime as well as arson.

Earlier this year, rocks were thrown through two stained-glass windows, and a replacement window was egged.

"The shadow of this will not dim the lights of our spirit," said Rabbi Avraham Keller. "We will continue ever stronger to spread the light of love."

"I'm hoping the local authorities will take preventive measures, not only investigative ones," he added. "We are not caught by surprise, and we need to be prepared accordingly."

Deputy Reno Police Chief Jim Weston said there were 12 hate crimes in Reno in 1998 and 13 so far in 1999. He said investigators never have been able to link any of those.

"Most of them are cases involving assaults, fights, intimidation, or neighborhood disputes where a racial element comes up. For example, somebody starts making racial slurs against an individual," he said.

Lynn Pierce, who has been a member of the Temple Emanu El congregation since 1980, said the attacks have left people shaken.

"On some level, yes, people feel afraid," Pierce said. "We are being very cautious. It's like having your house attacked. You feel violated."

Rabbi Myra Soifer of Temple Sinai said recent arson attacks elsewhere in the country have raised concerns.

"Of course, we're always concerned, particularly with what is going on in other locations. You'd be foolish not to be concerned," Soifer said. "We've already become fairly vigilant here, and we'll certainly continue that."

This summer three Jewish synagogues were set ablaze in Sacramento. One of the synagogues was destroyed. Two brothers accused of murdering a gay couple in Shasta County, Calif., in July also are suspected of setting the fires.

Also this summer, a man shot up a Jewish community center in Los Angeles, injuring an adult and four children. The same man is accused of killing a Filipino-American postal worker.

In Reno, attacks against Jewish temples have been sporadic, including swastikas scratched into buildings and broken windows.

In a similar incident four years ago, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Temple Emanu El. No one was arrested in that case.