A San Diego Jewish newspaper is struggling to carry on business as usual in the face of two recent firebomb attacks, both of which occured on Jewish holidays.
The latest attack took place Thursday, Tisha B’Av, at the offices of the San Diego Jewish Times in the suburb of El Cajon.
The bombing appears to have been a repeat attack. The Times was also firebombed April 22, the third day of Passover.
In both cases, damage to the building was minimal. The bombs were deflected by the bars on the windows of the offices and exploded outside, mainly scorching the exterior.
Morris Casuto, director of the San Diego office of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, said it was possible that the attackers specifically chose Jewish holidays for their attacks in an effort to intimidate the Jewish community.
Before the first bombing, the newspaper received threatening phone calls saying “the bars (on the windows) won’t stop the bombs” and that “Jewish newspapers don’t belong in El Cajon.”
After Thursday’s bombing, according to Times editor Carol Rosenberg, the newspaper also received two hate calls.
The first time, the caller said, “Sorry about what happened but we warned you,” apparently referring to last April’s attack. The employee receiving the call hung up on the caller, and immediately received another call.
This time, the caller said, “How dare you hang up on me. Heil Hitler.”
Police believe the two incidents, both of which occurred in the early morning hours, are linked.
SIMILAR METHODS
“The method of the attack is similar, which leads us to believe it’s the same suspect or suspects,” said Lt. Bob Lein, investigations commander for the El Cajon police department.
There are several neo-Nazi and Skinhead groups in the San Diego area, most notably Tom Metzger’s White Aryan Nations group. In an interview with a San Diego newspaper, Metzger denied having any connection with the first attack on the Times, saying that the newspaper was “small potatoes.”
Lein said, however, that “We are not ruling anybody out” in the police investigation.
The newspaper’s offices had been the targets of anti-Semitic attacks even before the bombings, with windows broken and swastikas scrawled on the walls.
The Times is an independent weekly newspaper which has been published by Rosenberg’s husband Garry for the past 10 years.
A $2,500 reward for information leading to those who bombed the offices in April had been offered. Since Thursday’s bombing, the reward has been increased to $10,000.
The money is being offered by the newspaper, the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and the local Crimestoppers organization. Rosenberg said that the attackers had failed to intimidate any members of her staff, and that personally, she was more saddened by the attacks than afraid.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
