May 7, 2003
Source: Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-08-me-fires8-story.html
On May 7, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that "a fire at a Ventura Boulevard synagogue early Wednesday was the fourth to strike houses of worship in Encino, starting with a Presbyterian church 11 days before and including an Iranian synagogue and a Bahai community center... The fire, possibly ignited by a pedestrian hurling a Molotov cocktail, at the Valley Beth Shalom synagogue was extinguished by automatic sprinklers, officials said... Although damage has been relatively small, the fires have triggered a hate-crime and arson investigation by federal and local officials and have left the upscale neighborhood on edge."