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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/18238/full/18238/solidarity-sense-of-renewal-follow-synagogue-arson-attack/ <br /><br /> <b>Solidarity, sense of renewal follow synagogue arson attack</b> <br /> Friday, August 9, 2002 | by <p>MARINA KRAKOVSKY </p> <br /><br /><p>The Rev. Leo Edgerly, Jr. stood on the bimah and read from Genesis at Beth Jacob Congregation Sunday. "We are all brothers and sisters," he proclaimed to the crowd gathered in the sanctuary of the Orthodox synagogue.<br /><br /> Edgerly, an African-American priest at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Piedmont, was one of about 10 clergy and political leaders who spoke at an interfaith, interracial solidarity gathering at the Oakland shul that afternoon.<br /><br /> The gathering, billed "Repairing the Structure, Renewing the Spirit," was held on the three-month anniversary of the May 4 arson attack that damaged the synagogue's rear wall and ultimately required $24,000 in repairs.<br /><br /> Judah Dardik, Beth Jacob's young rabbi, recounted his feelings of isolation the night of the attack, when he stood in the smoke-filled sanctuary with the firefighters who had called him to the scene. "Who knew who out there had come to get us?" But he said that, thanks to the outpouring of community support, this sense of isolation lasted only one or two days. "My voicemail was clogged for days afterwards. Some sent financial support, and all sent words of support. It was a real eye-opener and very comforting."<br /><br /> Dardik summarized his feelings about the attack and its aftermath: "Someone out there hates us. Someone up there is watching over us. And many, many people out there are with us."<br /><br /> Among the many supporters are the congregation's neighbors and civic leaders. Deborah Louria of the East Bay Region of the Jewish Community Relations Council wanted to hold an event like this to publicly thank the greater community for "their outpouring of support."<br /><br /> Ami Nahshon, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay, noted that the Bay Area, normally known for its tolerance of diversity, now leads the nation in the rise of anti-Semitic hate crimes.<br /><br /> Assemblywoman Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) said that historically, the Bay Area has seen a lot of religious and race-based hatred during times of international tension and economic hardship. "In Oakland we're very diverse, but just the fact that people are geographically next to each other does not make for diversity." True diversity, she said, requires mutual understanding and a strong relationship among the different groups.<br /><br /> Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), whose voting record on the Middle East has alienated many Jews, spoke out against the arson attacks and hate crimes in general. "As an African-American, I understand very deeply the feelings, the emotions, and the trauma that such acts result in," said Lee. One attendee later told her, "I disagree with you much of the time, but today I agreed with everything you said."<br /><br /> Oakland Police Chief Richard Word, explaining that hate crimes are created to bring fear to a larger group, encouraged people to continue providing information leading to an arrest. "Even if [the information] might not appear important, it might be the missing piece to a larger puzzle for us."<br /><br /> For its part, Beth Jacob has beefed up security, including a $25,000 security system, according to the synagogue's treasurer and security head, Steve Astrachan. It's a major expense for the congregation, which has only 140 member families.<br /><br /> "It's certainly frustrating that it hasn't been resolved," Dardik told reporters. But he said he derives confidence and comfort from the way so many in the community have responded.<br /><br /> He was especially touched by the actions of neighboring children from Zion Lutheran Church, who donated balls to replace damaged toys, as well as the eighth-graders from Corpus Christi Church, who sent handmade sympathy cards and had just concluded a unit on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust.<br /><br /> After leading the community in singing "Oseh Shalom," Dardik affixed a new mezuzah to the rear doorway and invited everyone to throw in a shovelful of earth for the tree-planting in the front of the synagogue.<br /><br /> Trees—associated with life, growth and change—are a fitting symbol for this community, particularly at this time, said Dardik. "We're hopefully growing and evolving through time."<br /><br /> The arson attack was an attempt to extinguish life from the synagogue, but in many ways the congregation grew stronger, he said. "We're no longer the same as we were before this event."</p> <p> </p>

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