Temple of Good Will

Synagogue celebrates its rededication seven years after being firebombed

Sacramento Bee
December 18, 2006
by Pamela Martineau

Sacramento, CA –The Kenesset Israel Torah Center was destroyed in an act of hatred seven years ago, but on Sunday the small temple was reborn in an act of joy.

In a moving rededication ceremony, the temple that was firebombed opened its new stone synagogue. Temple members and volunteers from the community at large constructed the building. Most of the labor was donated.

During the ceremony, the torah was laid in the temple's Holy Ark, and klezmer music mixed with somber words of gratitude and triumph.

The message that was repeated throughout was clear: In the end, good triumphs over evil.

"People of faith, people of good will, people who care ... are stronger than people who believe in hate and evil," state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, told the congregation during the ceremony.

"We will never forget June 18, 1999. But we will remember this day far longer," Steinberg added.

The temple is made of stone, some donated from Israel. Bricks bearing the names of congregants' loved ones adorn the walkway leading to the temple on Morse Avenue.

Many people said the rebuilding of the temple is a testimony to the good will within the Sacramento community and beyond. The temple received donations for the construction project not just from its members, but also from people in other parts of the world.

Jews and non-Jews worked side-by-side constructing the temple. Sometimes people came in on weekends as early as 6 a.m. Most people donated their labor or charged a fee well below the market rate. A local men's group calling itself "Those Magnificent Guys" helped immensely with the project.

"We did not do this ourselves," said Debby Stoller, president of the congregation. "We did this like a barn raising."

"It's breathtaking. I'm almost speechless how stunningly beautiful it is," Philip Vardana, a member of "Those Magnificent Guys," said of the finished temple.

Those who donated their labor said it gave them a chance to give back to the community and to right a wrong.

I don't particularly care for anyone who demonstrates hate to this degree. And in the name of community spirit I saw a chance to give back to that community," said Bob Edwards, who did much of the tiling in the synagogue for a reduced fee.

The Kenesset Israel Torah Center was one of three Sacramento synagogues set afire in 1999. Brothers Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams were charged with the arsons of the synagogues and an abortion clinic and the killing of a gay couple in Shasta County. Benjamin Matthew Williams committed suidide in jail. His brother remains in prison.

Members of the Kenesset Israel's synagogue held temple services wherever they could find space during the construction project. Recently, they've been holding services in a nearby adult school.

On Sunday, the temple's rabbi, Yosef (Yossi" Etz-Hasadeh affixed a mezuzah -- a small container that holds Holy Scriptures -- to the door of the synagogue. It was a poignant moment, marking completion of the project. Etz-Hasadeh reminded the congregants of the importance of synagogues to religious life.

"The synagogues are a guarantee that God would continue to live amoung," he said.

Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, executive director of the Orthodoc Union West Coast Region, called the rededication of the temple a "triumph."

"It is a monumental moment. From the terrible tragedy seven and a half years ago to this moment, is quite a triumph," he said.

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