Police this weekend were holding a 30-year-old Cheverly, Md. man on charges of dynamiting Jan. 11 the Shaare Tikvah synagogue in suburban Temple Hills, Md. Damage to the year-old synagogue was estimated at $200,000. A small arsenal was found in the home of David V. Maness, an electrical worker, along with a printed list of synagogues in Prince Georges County, where Shaare Tikvah is located, and a hand-drawn map of the Temple Hills area.
Among the charges filed against Maness were dynamiting of a house of worship. Some 38 pounds of dynamite, fuses and detonation tapes were found in his home along with weapons and ammunition after police picked him up in a car stopped when it was recognized as belonging to a convicted felon. Found also in the home was a quantity of literature produced by the extreme right-wing Minutemen organization which teaches its members guerrilla warfare. Officials did not say whether Maness was a Minute-men member.
Rabbi Robert Chernoff, the synagogue’s spiritual leader, said he hoped “there will be no premature judgments made against the man.” There were no injuries in the explosion as the synagogue was empty on the Saturday night that it occurred. The rabbi said repairs had begun. The congregation is meeting in a church.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
