Center Puts Fear in the Past

Refusing to cower in the face of ethnic hatred and violence, nearly all the children and staff members returned Monday as the North Valley Jewish Community Center reopened for the first time since last week’s shooting that left three boys and two center workers injured.

The high attendance figures at the Granada Hills facility reflected a determination to take a stand against fear, staff and parents said. One hundred and twenty-eight of 130 campers and 37 of 40 preschoolers were on campus Monday, greeted with welcoming banners in the lobby where bullet holes had been patched over, walls repainted, and new carpeting and windows installed.

Among those returning were three of the wounded: Joshua Stepakoff and James Zidell, both 6, and 68-year-old Isabelle Shalometh, who was back at her receptionist desk.

Lesley Pincus said she brought her son Scott, 6, back to the community center Monday to show him that it was still a safe place.

“I told him that there would be lots of police, security guards and people there supporting him,” she said. “Life goes on and you can’t live in fear.”

As Los Angeles Police Department officers and private security guards stood watch, parents resumed the daily ritual of dropping off their children for day camp and preschool at the sprawling Rinaldi Street center, which includes an outdoor swimming pool and a pen for pet goats.

Bonnie Gottlieb, who has one child in camp and another in preschool, said returning to the center would help her children put the tragedy behind them.

“The children needed to see the face of their friends, counselors and teachers,” she said. “We are happy to be back in our house.”

The parents spoke to a media throng that was kept outside, at the center’s entrance. Inside, a magician, a clown and a disc jockey were on hand in an effort to keep the mood upbeat at the center’s preschool, camp and youth and senior citizens programs, which operated on a regular schedule Monday, officials said. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, along with a delegation of area clergy, also toured the center.

Jeffrey L. Rouss, executive vice president of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles, said: “The community center is back on its feet. We want to demonstrate to ourselves that evil will not stop us.”

Jackson met with staff and the children to show his support for the community center and called for a “coalition of consciousness.”

“There is a growing, underlying wave of violence in our country,” Jackson said. “It is a new level of violence. . . . There is a sense that we are underestimating the number of guns, technical capabilities and the will to injure.”

Jackson called on elected officials to step forward and take a leadership role in shaping the debate on hate crimes and gun violence.

“Leadership must be accountable,” Jackson said, “[and] offer moral leadership in times of danger.”

Buford O. Furrow Jr., a member of the white supremacist group Aryan Nations, has allegedly confessed to fatally shooting postal worker Joseph Ileto soon after wounding five people at the center.

Furrow, 37, faces state and federal murder and attempted murder charges. The unemployed mechanical engineer from Washington state allegedly said he wanted the attack to serve as a “wake-up call to kill American Jews.”

Nancy Parris Moskowitz, community center board president and a parent of a camp counselor, said the reopening of the center sends a clear message to hatemongers.

“There is more love in the world than hate,” she said. “It is time for the world to step up and address the issue of hate groups.”

Joanne Vescera, who has three children enrolled in camp, said the center counselors have been like family, which she appreciates because most of her own relatives live 3,000 miles away.

“I was anxious coming back,” said Vescera, “but the staff has done a wonderful job.”

Pincus, one of the parents at Monday’s reopening, said her son Scott is a good friend of shooting victims Joshua Stepakoff and James Zidell.

Scott visited Joshua at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The injured boy told his friend about his helicopter ride from Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Pincus said.

The most seriously injured victim of the assault-rifle attack, 5-year-old Benjamin Kadish, was listed in serious condition Monday in the intensive care unit at Childrens Hospital, said Steve Rutledge, a spokesman at the facility.

Benjamin was taken off a respirator at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Rutledge said, and has been breathing on his own and able to talk with his family.

The fifth victim, Mindy Finkelstein, 16, is still at home recuperating, officials said.

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All of The Times’ coverage of the shootings at the North Valley Jewish Community Center is available on the Web at: https://www.latimes.com/shooting

* STATE STATISTICS RELEASED

There were 1,750 hate crime incidents reported in 1998. A3

* McCAIN JOINS GUN DEBATE

Arizona Sen. John McCain calls for hearing on gun control. A13

* GUN SALE MEASURE

Sales of guns on county property face a possible ban. B1