Santa Cruz police say there's no indication that a recent arson fire at a Jewish student organization's office was a hate crime, but they are asking for the public's help in locating two ``persons of interest'' to help rule out the possibility.
About 2:30 a.m. Sunday, someone took newspapers out of the sales racks at a 7-Eleven store on Cardiff Place, lighted them and stuffed them through the mail slot next door, at the offices of the Hillel Foundation.
``It's very lucky that the whole damn building didn't go up,'' said Santa Cruz police Sgt. Mike Pruger. ``The flames caught hold of the rug and began burning the couch.''
Pruger said a 7-Eleven customer noticed flames inside the Hillel office, which is across the street from the University of California-Santa Cruz.
A clerk at 7-Eleven put out the spreading fire by pouring water through the mail slot.
The organization's office remains open.
The arsonists left nothing to indicate their motivation.
Police released video from the convenience store's security cameras, showing the two people they're seeking: white males of medium build wearing blue jeans, with one or both possibly using a bicycle. One man was blond, of medium height and wore a black pullover sweatshirt with a brown or tan design on the front. The other man had brown hair and a dark cap.
Hillel promotes Jewish culture at UC-Santa Cruz by sponsoring social activities, Israel programs, religious and holiday celebrations, educational programs and outreach to Jewish students.
The group's director, Shalom Bochner, said tension on campus is elevated because of misdirected emotions at Muslim and Jewish students. However, he said, the organization has received no calls or threats since three years ago, when a door at the organization was scratched with swastikas.
``It's unsettling, but no one here is panicking,'' Bochner said. ``The Jewish community is certainly not on fire . . . and life goes on.''
