O.C. Jews to Boost Temple, School Security

Ethnic-rooted shootings in the San Fernando Valley earlier this week--the third incident in a series of anti-Semitic and racist assaults nationwide--have led Orange County Jewish leaders to tighten security at schools and temples.

The violence also has led the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County to schedule a special security seminar for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Jewish Federation in Costa Mesa that will include advice from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

“We do not want to tell everybody how to barricade themselves--the Jewish community doesn’t want to go underground to make itself safe,” ADL Regional Director Joyce Greenspan said. “What we really do want to do is heighten awareness. Fifty percent of security is being aware of your surroundings.”

While community leaders say they aren’t expecting more violence, they also say the recent incidents can’t be ignored.

“We’ve been on watch since the synagogue fires in Sacramento about a month ago,” said Fran Brumlik, executive director of Congregation Shir Ha Ma’alot in Irvine, whose board of directors Tuesday approved installing a new security system and other improvements that could cost as much as $15,000. “We have a system, but we are going to move up to the next level of security. We’re going to become more vigilant.”

Five people--an adult, a teenager and three children--were shot and wounded Tuesday at a Jewish day camp in Granada Hills by a white supremacist. An hour later, police said, the same gunman killed Filipino mail carrier Joseph Ileto, 39, of Chino Hills, in nearby Chatsworth.

The gunman, identified by police as Buford O. Furrow, reportedly told authorities he perceived his acts to be a “wake-up call” to kill American Jews. Furrow, who reportedly suffered from mental problems, was active in the Aryan Nations, the Idaho-based group of white separatists whose encampment has been the launch point for a series of violent attacks around the country since the days of The Order in the early 1980s.

Rabbi Elie Spitz of B’nai Israel in Tustin said this week’s violence seems to follow a pattern that has left members of his congregation “a little on edge.”

“Clearly there is a pattern this summer,” Spitz said, citing the Sacramento arsons and a shooting spree in Chicago by a white supremacist targeting minorities, in which a black man was killed. “That has left the Jewish community concerned about being targeted by a limited but yet real number of racists. And that adds to our level of sensitivity to protect our children.”

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s shootings, Orange County sheriff’s deputies dropped in on Jewish schools and day-care centers, “cautioning them to be aware of any individuals that they do not recognize,” Lt. Hector Rivera said.

The difficulty, he said, lies in balancing response. The shootings point up the need for vigilance, but he warned against overreaction.

“We don’t want to promote the spread of panic,” he said. “We don’t want to perpetuate the feeling that these kinds of incidents are going to continue.”

Still, some community leaders are uneasy about the timing of the Chicago shootings, the Sacramento arsons and the attacks in the Valley, even though there are no overt links between those believed responsible.

“I’m hoping that this is not a new trend of physical assaults on people, in contrast to the usual phenomenon we deal with of assaults on our physical facilities, our synagogues,” said Rabbi Michael Mayersohn of Temple Beth David in Westminster. “If that is a new trend . . . then we have every reason to be very concerned.”

Mayersohn said his synagogue routinely reviews its security measures and will do so again now.

“An incident like this reminds us of how important constant review process is,” he said. “We’re always watching and alert to what’s going on around us. . . . We are constantly reviewing and reassessing our security measures.”

Rabbi Zalman Marcus of Chabad of Mission Viejo described beefing up security as a logical response to an illogical act.

“Just like you take out fire insurance or life insurance, it only makes sense to be careful when something like this happens,” he said. “But also, you don’t take out life insurance thinking you’re going to die. It’s just a precaution.”

That the suspected Valley shooter had surrendered and apparently had a history of mental illness offered little comfort.

“We live in a wonderful and beautiful country, but I think that unfortunately there are a lot of crazy people,” Marcus said. “With crazy people, there’s very, very little you can do.”