ADL outraged by shooting

Tuesday's shooting at a Los Angeles Jewish community center and the arrest Wednesday in Las Vegas of the suspected gunman prompted a well-guarded press conference by the Anti-Defamation League.

Jason J. Skoboloff, community director for the Las Vegas office of the Anti-Defamation League, expressed his outrage about the shooting to a handful of reporters Wednesday afternoon. Before the reporters could enter the organization's office, however, they had to identify themselves to a gauntlet of security officers from Investigative Specialist Inc.

Deborah Cox, an office manager for the ADL, said the guards were hired specifically for the press conference, but declined to say whether the organization had received any threats.

"The Anti-Defamation League has security procedures that we follow to the letter and when added security is needed we hire them," Cox said.

Skoboloff gave a brief background on the racist groups Buford O. Furrow Jr. is alleged to belong to and noted that 20 to 25 such groups have ties to the Las Vegas and Reno areas.

Many hate group members pass through Las Vegas on their way to the Pacific Northwest, where such groups as The Order have compounds, Skoboloff said. Others have post office boxes in Las Vegas and Reno.

"We should not be in a panic, but we need to be aware that they do exist here and in L.A.," Skoboloff said.

When asked specifics about the groups and their activities, Skoboloff referred all questions to the FBI. Efforts to reach the FBI Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Although the Anti-Defamation League has noticed the number of incidents declining over the years, the incidents themselves have grown more violent, Skoboloff said. Some might argue the number of incidents have dropped because the number of people with those ideologies have diminished, he said.

"One could equally argue and forcefully argue that as the numbers fall," those who do act out their aggressions are becoming more violent to make up for the drop in incidents, Skoboloff said. Moreover, the stronger their beliefs, the more isolated they feel and the more desperate they are to draw attention to themselves.

Ronni Epstein, executive director for the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, also attended the press conference.

Epstein said she hopes this latest incident will wake up those who might otherwise choose to remain silent about intolerance.

"I don't think we can live our lives around crazy people who do acts of violence, but we need to be vigilant," Epstein said. "We need to be aware and we need to speak out against any act of violence whether it's against the Jewish community, the African-American community or the Christian community."

In a later interview, Tasha Hill, deputy director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, also expressed her dismay at the latest incident. The fact that it happened at a place where people gather to feel safe and accepted is particularly disturbing to her, she said.

Hill pointed out that while murders seem to get the most media attention, people are assaulted every day because of their sexual orientation, race or religion.

"Hate groups don't discriminate in the groups they hate, they think we all suck," Hill said.

Epstein, Hill and Skoboloff all noted they were grateful to local law enforcement and the FBI for their efforts in keeping track of hate groups and their willingness to speak with their organizations about security measures.

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