New Site Sought for Benefit Rally for Arson Victim : Thousand Oaks: The event at the burned comic-book store is canceled. The building’s owner fears it would disrupt businesses.

Organizers of a rally to benefit the victims of an arson fire in Thousand Oaks scrambled Tuesday to find a new location after they were told not to hold it in front of the burned-out business.

“It’s just a shame,” said Randy Senzig, a Thousand Oaks volunteer for Shalom International, which is organizing the rally to be held Sunday, the first day of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. “We’ll just have to find a new site for the rally.”

Senzig said the building’s owner, Viola Baptiste, first agreed the rally could be held in front of the gutted remains of Myron Cohen-Ross’ Heroes and Legends comic-book store at 1165 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

But this week, Baptiste canceled the event after discovering that the rally probably would draw hundreds of people.

Baptiste said she feared the event would disrupt other businesses still in the building.

“I’m the least-prejudiced person in the world,” she said. “I don’t care what kind of rally it is. I don’t want hundreds of people on my property. . . . It would be a zoo down there.”

Supporters have vowed to help the Jewish business owner rebuild since his store was torched and spray-painted with swastikas, “SS” and the words “Die Jew” on Friday.

Senzig said he was disappointed by Baptiste’s decision. “I understand where she’s coming from, but I think it’s the wrong approach,” Senzig said.

“People are scared of this. You’re dealing with people who are not afraid to torch your place, they’re not afraid of leaving their calling card on your wall,” he said. “The problem is that if you don’t take a stand . . . the haters are going to take over your community.”

Baptiste said she comforted Cohen-Ross as he watched his store burn last week. But she is uncomfortable with attention the attack has brought to the community.

“This has been blown up all out of proportion,” she said. “And this is an isolated case. People will think there are gangs all over the place. They should be helping the people in Florida, there are homeless people there. . . . Why can’t we just forget it?”

Cohen-Ross, the 59-year-old businessman whose store went up in flames, said he understands why Baptiste does not want to have the rally at the store. But he does not believe the incident should be forgotten.

“You can’t forget it,” Cohen-Ross said. “This store was like my second home. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I still don’t know if this is aimed at me personally or at all Jews.”

Cohen-Ross said it is unlikely he will move back to the store. He is looking for another building where he can reopen the comic-book store as quickly as possible.

On Tuesday night, Cohen-Ross and four local rabbis were honored for their courage in fighting anti-Semitism at a meeting of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith in Thousand Oaks.

The ADL gave community service awards to two Thousand Oaks rabbis, Shimon Paskow of Temple Etz Chaim and Alan Greenbaum of Temple Adat Elohim, and rabbis Gary Johnson of Temple Beth Haverim in Agoura Hills and Michael Berk of Temple Beth Torah in Ventura.

“All of us, if we are Jewish, are on the front lines,” Johnson said. “We must be as passionate and involved in doing good deeds as evil people are in doing bad deeds.”

Ventura County government officials also condemned hate crimes directed at synagogues and Jewish businesses in recent years.

“Hate crimes and gang-related crimes are clearly becoming part of the Ventura County scene,” Supervisor Maggie Kildee said. “We in Ventura County need to create an atmosphere that says this kind of thing won’t be tolerated here.”