The white supremacist brothers who firebombed three Sacramento-area synagogues two years ago face many years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to federal charges. For that, the Jewish community is grateful.
“All I can say is the defendants admitted their guilt in open court; there’s nothing quite like that. It’s probably even better than a trial in which someone is convicted. They came to the court and said, ‘We did it,'” said Fran Bremson, president of Congregation B’nai Israel, the most heavily damaged of the three synagogues.
“I think the community is satisfied that justice was done and we’re happy to close this chapter in our history,” he continued. “I think the fact that these gentlemen will spend the next 20 to 30 years in prison at minimum is welcome news to the Jewish community at large.”
Benjamin Matthew Williams, 33, considered the instigator in the attacks, will face 30 years in federal prison following the plea agreement in Sacramento. His brother, James Tyler Williams, 31, is to receive 18 to 21 years when the sentences are handed down Nov. 30.
The burning of the three synagogues in the predawn hours of June 18, 1999 marked the opening of a “summer of hate.” Subsequent months saw a shooting spree that wounded five at a Los Angeles-area Jewish community center and a white supremacist’s killing rampage in the Midwest.
Rabbi Joseph Melamed still recalls being awakened by a 4 a.m. phone call, when a harried voice on the end of the line informed him that his synagogue was on fire.
“You feel secure in a house of worship,” said Melamed, now the rabbi emeritus at the Reform Congregation Beth Shalom in suburban Carmichael. “We were not prepared for that kind of thing. It was a wake-up call here.”
Following their conviction in federal court on the fire-bombings, the Williams brothers will be tried in state court for the murder of a gay couple two weeks after the Sacramento arsons. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty in that case, scheduled for trial in April 2002.
Jonathan Bernstein, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, praised the sentences as sending “a strong message to those who would advocate similar acts of hatred.”
Hardest hit by the Sacramento synagogue attacks was Congregation B’nai Israel, a 150-year-old Reform temple that sustained more than $1 million in damages.
Roughly $100,000 damage also was suffered by Beth Shalom. The Orthodox Kenesset Israel Torah Center was also partially burned by the Williams brothers.
At two of the synagogues, the perpetrators left leaflets proclaiming that the “International Jew World Order” and the “International Jewsmedia” started the war in Kosovo.
While he was held in prison, the elder Williams initiated a series of media interviews in which he declared his readiness to be executed as a “Christian martyr” whose death would spur increased attacks on Jews, homosexuals and other minorities.
Jennifer Kaufman, a past B’nai Israel president, was largely satisfied with the Williams brothers’ sentences, but worried the plea bargain agreement might protect additional individuals who may have assisted in planning or executing the attacks.
“Some people are upset. They think other people are involved, and it’s questionable whether information is going to come out now,” she said. “Given the extent of the crime, and also recognizing no people were injured or killed, I think the sentences are appropriate.”
Following the synagogue attacks, a unity rally of all faiths and races in Sacramento drew 5,000 people and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help repair the shuls.
By coincidence, California Gov. Gray Davis appeared at B’nai Israel two days before the guilty pleas. He chose the venue to sign into law a bill prohibiting insurance companies from canceling, failing to renew or raising premiums on policies of organizations that file claims based on hate crimes. The bill was introduced after Congregation B’nai Israel was denied renewal of its property insurance after it filed a $1 million damage claim for the firebombing. The new law will go into effect Jan. 1 and will protect religious, educational and nonprofit institutions and organizations.
Tamar Galatzan, Western states associate counsel for the ADL, praised the new law.
“The damage done by hate crimes cannot be measured solely in terms of physical injury or dollars and cents. When an insurance company blames the victim for being targeted — by canceling or not renewing a policy — the perpetrator’s message of hate and exclusion is reinforced,” she said.
As for the Williams brothers, Melamed offered this thought: “If we could have these two guys going to those who sent them to set these synagogues on fire and telling them how ludicrous it is, to start thinking about doing something good rather than something bad, this would be, to me, better than punishment.
“I would rather they be active for the good of humanity, rather than a destructive element.”