preaching the Christian Identity doc-
trine of hatred in public meetings twice
a month to about 25 people. The store
is owned by his followers, Mary and
Leroy Marquiss. He also preaches via
short-wave radio and the Internet.
Cantor Gale quoted Wickstrom's
words from a March. 12, 2003, short-
wave radio broadcast:
'You stinking Jews who are listening
to this broadcast. You Christ-killing
bastards, because that is what you are,
I'm going to tell you there's not going
to be one ounce of mercy given to any
Jew — man, woman or child — when
the awakening takes place.
"Anyone who shows mercy to these
vile anti-Christ devils, these commu-
nists in flesh bodies, are going to go
right down with the Jews."
According to a 1999 Federal Bureau
of Investigation report on domestic ter-
ror groups, the Christian Identity.
movement believes in the end of the
world and the second coming of
Christ. They describe themselves as
"part of a cleansing process that is
needed before Christ's kingdom can be
established on earth.
"During this time, Jews and their
allies will attempt to destroy the white
race using any means available. The
result will be a violent and bloody strug-
gle — a war, in effect — between God's
forces, the white race, and the forces of
evil, the Jews and nonwhites."
HARRY KIRS BAUM
StaffWriter
C
antor Daniel Gale grew up in
Bay City, Mich.
As a member of Bay City's
Temple Israel his entire life, he knew
when he left to 'study at the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music in Ohio and
the Jewish Theological Seminary in
New York, it was with the sole inten-
tion to return as chazzan 'of the
Conservative temple and lead the
small, tightly-knit Jewish community
of 150 families.
In his community, cross-burnings
and anti-Semitic vandalism were vague,
isolated incidents from long ago.
"I can't think of an instance where
we had something specifically anti-
Semitic done against the synagogue,"
said Cantor Gale, who is Temple
Israel's sole clergy. "But nothing in my
background or training prepared me
for this."
In May 2003, a reporter from the
Bay City Times asked Cantor Gale for a
comment on — and a warning about
— James Wickstrom, a leader of the
anti-Semitic Christian Identity move-
ment, who has been preaching from a
furniture store 1 '/2 miles from the
temple for about a year.
This isn't a story about how a Jewish
community dealt with hatred, but how
hatred brought together a community.
Idyllic Setting
Temple Israel stands among stately, cen-
tury-old manors on a tree-lined street in
the city's historic section.
Built in 1960, the red brick, single-
story modernist temple was greatly influ-
Bay
enced by the Frank Lloyd Wright prairie
style, and designed by the late Alden
Dow.
Its original architectural footprint was a Star of
David.
No large sign notes the temple's presence, and its
members maintain a low profile.
A total *of about 200 Jewish families live in the
Tri-Cities area of Bay City, Saginaw and Midland.
Each city has its own synagogue. Close to 100 fami-
lies belong to Temple Israel in Bay City.
Jews who live in New York, Chicago and the
Photo above: Cantor Daniel Gale and Baptist Pastor
Kim Lewis at the entrance to Bay City's Temple Israel.
6/ 4
2004
16
0
City and its Jews rally against purveyors of
Detroit suburbs don't understand what it's like to be
a Jew living in a non-Jewish area, said temple mem-
ber Dr. Judy Kerman.
"I don't think the United States is a hostile place
for Jews, but it's a non-Jewish place, and [big-city
Jews] don't have a clue," said Dr. Kerman, a profes-
sor at Saginaw Valley State University.
Less than two miles down the road from the tem-
ple, surrounded by a few strip malls and other retail
businesses, stands Marquiss Quality. Furniture in a
stand-alone building.
According the Times story, it is from this store that
Wickstrom, originally from Escanaba, has been
Response
After the Times' front-page story June 1,
2003, about Wickstrom and the
Christian Identity movement, the phone
"started to ring off the hook," said
Cantor Gale. "People were, of course,
hate.
angry.
"There was controversy within our
community about whether it was a good thing that,
in fact, the article had appeared, because- [Christian
Identity] thrives on publicity."
Cantor Gale contacted the Southern Poverty Law
Center and the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL
handled the Jewish community's response in the
paper.
With advice from the ADL, a letter was sent to
the Bay City Jewish community, reassuring everyone
that contact had been made with local law enforce-
-ment and the FBI. The letter also stated, on advice
from the ADL, that no one from the Jewish com-
munity should write letters-to-the-editor in