ARSON HITS SACRAMENTO SYNAGOGUES.Byline: Steve Geissinger Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Arsonists struck three of the area's five synagogues within minutes early Friday, and a leaflet blaming the ``International Jew World Order'' for the war in Kosovo was left behind. The fires caused moderate damage to two synagogues and gutted a third temple's library, destroying a collection of videos on Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith, and culture. Since Jewish history encompasses nearly four thousand years and hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes. . ``Hate is hate. You can't predict when it will happen,'' Lou Anapolsky, president of Congregation B'nai Israel This page is under construction. This article or section is currently in the middle of an expansion or major revamping. However, you are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. , said Friday morning, standing in front of the congregation's burned library. The federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI are investigating. ``It was deliberate arson. It was a hate crime. Beyond that we really can't say,'' said James Maddock, who heads the FBI's Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern office in Sacramento. Investigators questioned four youths who fled from police near Congregation B'nai Israel and determined they had nothing to do with the fires. There were no suspects Friday evening. A flier blaming the ``International Jews media'' for the war in Kosovo was found at the Knesset Israel Torah Center by KOVR-TV. ``We are Slavs, we will never allow the International Jew World Order to take our Land,'' the flier reads. ``We fight to keep Serbia free forever.'' Reports of the synagogue fires stunned a pastor at Sacramento's only Serbian church. ``Our church and our people have nothing to do with this act of terror, this act of hate,'' said the Rev. Dobrivoje Milunovic of the Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian: Српска Православна Црква / Srpska Pravoslavna Crkva; СПЦ / SPC) or the of the Assumption. ``Our prayers and thoughts are with the members of the Jewish congregations whose temples have been burned.'' In April, the FBI investigated a Serb-language letter faxed to Milunovic's church and several other U.S. Orthodox churches urging terrorist strikes on U.S. military installations. Milunovic said he found Friday's events difficult to understand because Serbs and Jews have related well to each other for centuries. Many Jews found refuge in Serbia during the Holocaust, he said. Sabbath services were planned Friday evening at the city Community Center downtown and at one of the synagogues that wasn't struck. The three synagogues targeted will be closed at least through the weekend as ATF ATF Molecular virology Activating transcription factor A cellular protein that stimulates transcription of adenovirus E4 transcription unit, which acts early in infection at any of several 'enhancer' binding sites chemists comb for clues to determine how the fires started. The first blaze was reported at 3:24 a.m. at B'nai Israel near downtown Sacramento Downtown Sacramento is the central district of the city of Sacramento, California. The district is defined as north of R Street, south of H Street, east of the Sacramento River, and west of 16th Street. Downtown Sacramento is currently undergoing a major revitalization project. . The second was called in at 3:48 a.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom Beth Shalom is a Holocaust memorial center in Nottinghamshire in England. External links
James Hayes Shofner "Jim" Cooper (born July 19, 1954) is a politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee, currently a member of the U.S. . ``It was a cowardly act,'' Cooper said. The fires caused an estimated $800,000 in damage at B'nai Israel, where a library was destroyed and offices were damaged. The library housed a ``Jewish heritage video collection,'' including Holocaust videos, children's videos and other films relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc Jewish culture. Minor fire damage was found in the synagogue sanctuary. The attack is the second there in six years. B'nai Israel was among the targets of firebombings aimed at a range of minority groups in the Sacramento area in July 1993. A 17-year-old white separatist white separatist n. One who advocates the creation of a society in which whites live separately from other races or from which nonwhite races are excluded. white separatism n. was convicted in the attacks. U.S. Attorney Paul Seave is a member of B'nai Israel and said he would make prosecuting the case his top priority. A federal, state and local hate crimes task force formed after the '93 incidents was revived Friday, Seave said. There was $100,000 in damage at Beth Shalom, where the sanctuary was damaged, but the sprinkler system halted A DOS error message that means the computer could not continue due to a hardware or software problem. It can occur if a memory parity error is detected or if a peripheral board goes awry. A program bug can also cause this as well as a virus. the fire on the first floor. A package left in the sanctuary was checked by a bomb squad and determined not to be explosive. Knesset received $30,000 in damage. ``It's disturbing to be a target of this kind of activity,'' said Beth Shalom member Debby Nelson. ``But I feel fortunate. They attempted to do real damage. We have a good security and fire alarm system. It stopped them in their tracks.'' Sacramento police and the Sheriff's Department planned to put extra officers on duty patrolling near synagogues and Jewish organization offices. They said there would be other security measures but declined to identify them. A national church arson task force documented 670 attacks on houses of worship between January 1995 and September 1998. Of those, 33 were in California and only one in Sacramento, a Baptist church. Such coordinated attacks on synagogues have been rare, according to the Anti-Defamation League Anti-Defamation League B’nai B’rith organization which fights anti-Semitism. [Am. Hist.: Wigoder, 33] See : Anti-Semitism . Two Los Angeles synagogues on the same city block were damaged by arson in December 1997. ``It's obviously a sign that there was planning involved,'' said Jonathan Bernstein of the ADL's San Francisco office. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Peter Cole, a member of Congregation B'nai Israel, and his daughter Elizabeth are shocked by the damage at their synagogue. Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press |
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