FBI Probes Vandalism at Temples, Racist Leaflets
The FBI is investigating the recent distribution of anti-Semitic leaflets in various communities in Southern California and the July 31 vandalism of a West Hills synagogue, officials said Monday.
A Los Angeles Police Department detective, meanwhile, said a second synagogue in the San Fernando Valley--Temple Ahavat Shalom in Northridge--also was vandalized.
The vandalism apparently occurred on the same night as the incident at Temple Solael in West Hills, Los Angeles Det. Ed Heissel said.
The FBI opened separate inquiries into the incidents to determine if there are federal civil rights violations, FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley said. One probe concerns the leaflets, which were found in communities from Santa Clarita to Glendale. The other will focus on the vandalism.
Although both the leaflets and the graffiti spray-painted on Temple Solael bore the same Internet address of a white supremacy group, the Virginia-based National Alliance, Bosley said the FBI has not linked the incidents.
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