Attack rallies community.

Byline: BILL BISHOP The Register-Guard

Hundreds of people are expected to join the congregation at Temple Beth Israel in Eugene on Friday for a vigil exactly one week after an attack by a group of stone-throwing young men.

Police and the FBI continue to investigate the attack, which happened around 9:15 p.m. as 80 worshippers were attending a Shabbat service. No suspects have been identified.

No one was injured, but two windows were broken and the building's brick exterior was chipped by stones.

Witnesses, including Rabbinic Assistant Jonathan Seidel, saw four to six young men - possibly in their late teens to early 20s - flee from the area of 25th Avenue and Portland Street in a dark-colored sport utility vehicle.

Seidel said the driver did not turn on the vehicle's lights, so a license plate and other details were not visible.

"They got in their car pretty quickly," Seidel said.

Eugene police spokeswoman Kerry Delf said the suspects' descriptions are "very tentative" because eyewitnesses couldn't see them very well.

Anyone with information about the incident may phone police at 682-5111, she said.

The attackers threw a number of rocks ranging in size between grapefruit and golf balls, each with a swastika mechanically etched into its surface, temple Executive Director Cathy Kurtz said.

Jewish community leaders said they are grateful for a flood of support since the attack.

Several local churches, city Human Rights Commission members and private citizens have swamped the synagogue's phones with messages of reassurance and support.

Neighbors have collected money to repair the windows, Kurtz said.

"We are so impressed with the outpouring from this community. It sends a very loud and strong message," she said.

Until Friday's attack, incidents of hate crimes had declined this year in the Eugene area, according to Greg Rikhoff, the city's human rights program manager.

Some anti-Semitic hate mail had been sent to congregation members earlier in the year.

In 2001, the congregation was targeted by someone who sent hundreds of hate letters from out of state, Rikhoff said.

The temple was attacked in 1994 by two skinheads who were caught and convicted of intimidation for firing a rifle at the building while it was unoccupied.

Friday's attack was more hurtful, even though it involved no firearm, because so many people experienced it firsthand, said Margot Helphand, chairwoman of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Community vigils, such as the one planned Friday, helped the congregation heal from the 1994 attack - but the memory still remains, she said.

"That's what hate crimes do to people," she said. "It chips away at your sense of what makes this country great. It erodes the quality of life for everybody. The police take it very seriously. That is extremely reassuring."

CAPTION(S):

Cathy Kurtz points out a hole in one of two windows (including stained glass window, top) damaged when the building was hit with rocks bearing swastikas.