Firebomb Scars Jewish Newspaper in El Cajon

A Jewish newspaper building in El Cajon was firebombed Saturday with a Molotov cocktail that sparked a blaze shattering two barred windows and scorching the protected structure’s facade, police said.

Earlier this month, swastikas were spray-painted on the building.

Police and fire officials responded to an anonymous call of a fire at the San Diego Jewish Times building shortly after 1 a.m. and discovered the front of the building in flames, an El Cajon police officer said.

The fire was quickly extinguished. Investigators said it was started by a Molotov cocktail that had been thrown against the front of the building. Two windows were shattered by intense heat of the fire, which scorched the front wall.

No Motive, No Suspects

By Saturday evening, authorities said they had not determined a motive for the firebombing, nor did they have any suspects.

Garry Rosenberg, publisher of the 16,000-circulation newspaper, said investigators told him the Molotov cocktail hit a bar covering one of the building’s front windows, preventing the bomb from entering the structure.

“This was not a case of someone pulling a prank, like leaving a firecracker at someone’s doorstep to cause noise,” Rosenberg said. “This was a bomb, and we have people who work late. This was potentially life-threatening.”

The newspaper, besides having bars on all of its windows, is equipped with infrared motion-detection devices and security cameras to protect its workers, Rosenberg said.

“We’ve received many anonymous calls in the past, some just six weeks ago, from people making statements including, ‘The bars won’t stop the bullets’ and ‘Jewish newspapers don’t belong in El Cajon,’ ” the publisher said.

“We see the attack as not just against a religiously oriented organization but an attack on the free press,” he said. He added that earlier this month someone broke several windows.

The newspaper, in conjunction with the San Diego office of the Anti-Defamation League of the B’nai B’rith, has offered a $2,500 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the weekend attack.