ALEZA GOLDSMITH
Bulletin Staff
Gasoline cans and other flammable materials were found on the roof of the synagogue on Brotherhood Way last weekend. The San Francisco Police Department, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating the case.
Once all the evidence is gathered, the agencies will determine whether to pursue hate crime charges, said Inspector Anna Brown of the SFPD's hate crime unit.
"The fact that [a fire] did not ignite and that no one is hurt is a good thing," said Brown, "but the attempt itself is just as serious."
Rabbi Evan Goodman discovered the suspected arson attempt Friday night after a janitor spotted the red gasoline cans. The rabbi and others at the synagogue had noticed a gasoline odor earlier that week but were not able to locate its source.
As of yet there is no indication that Brandeis Hillel Day School, which is located next to the synagogue and is jointly constructing a building with the synagogue, was targeted as well.
After the gasoline cans were found -- just days before Passover celebrations began -- the synagogue beefed up security.
"Passover is a time when the community comes together to recognize oppression," Goodman said. "Now that hits home even more."
"I have talked with so many other rabbis who have been through something like this, but I've always been on the other end," Goodman added. "It really hits hard when it happens to you and a synagogue you care so much about."
Goodman said he is "gratified that we live in a country that takes something like this so seriously. We must have had at least three or four dozen agents here since the time this all happened, and they've been in touch around the clock."
In addition to law enforcement, the synagogue has been in close contact with the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Community Relations Council.
The ADL has been working with the hate crime unit of the SFPD on offering a reward for tips leading to the capture and prosecution of the perpetrator. The JCRC has been working with the synagogue on issues of security.
The synagogue has also brought in counselors to work with its support staff since "they are on the front lines and the bastions of vigilance in our synagogue," said David Stein, Beth Israel-Judea's executive director.
"The staff here feels really bad" that it didn't see this coming, said Stein. "But we want them to know they did all they could."
On Monday Goodman, Stein and synagogue President Anne Fuchs-Chesney sent a letter to Beth Israel-Judea's 400 families informing them of the suspected arson attempt. In it they detailed the synagogue's intention to maintain an added police presence on the premises and assured congregants they'd keep them informed of further developments.
"We will not give in to the forces of hate and intolerance that may plague us," they wrote. "We look forward to gathering strength from one another this Passover."
Although no one was injured and a fire was never ignited, the ADL's regional director, Jonathan Bernstein, said the "averted disaster" should serve as "a wake-up call" for the Bay Area Jewish community.
"These sorts of things don't only occur in the backwoods of Mississippi or in other faraway places," said Bernstein, who heads the ADL's Central Pacific region. "Hatred exists everywhere."
In response to the incident, the synagogue is currently reviewing its security measures and exploring ways to upgrade them.
"We want the building and the people to feel secure," said Goodman. "We want this to be a place where no one feels threatened."
Rabbi Doug Kahn, the JCRC executive director, said he encourages all synagogues to take a proactive approach by "analyzing the procedures and steps they are taking to deter" hate-related attacks.
"Vigilance is always called for," he said. "Rabbi Goodman and the synagogue have acted exactly how we encourage synagogues to."