A Mississippi synagogue famous for its role in the civil rights movement was significantly damaged Saturday in a fire that officials say was intentionally set. The Beth Israel Congregation, which is the state’s largest synagogue and the only Jewish place of worship in Mississippi’s state capitol, was burned some time before 3 a.m. Saturday, in a fire that destroyed its library and administrative offices. A suspect was arrested for the blaze later that day, but has yet to be publicly identified.
According to local broadcast station WJTV, firefighters were called to Beth Israel Congregation in the early hours on January 10. When they arrived, they discovered flames coming from the windows of the structure, which was locked down for the evening, Jackson Fire Department’s division fire chief, Charles Felton, says. Arson investigators with the department determined that the blaze had been intentionally set, he says.
Local police and fire investigators were soon joined by agents with the FBI and the ATF, as is standard when a fire is reported at a house of worship. According to Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin Holloway, who spoke with Mississippi Today, the state Homeland Security Office is also assisting in the investigation.
Jackson mayor John Horhn tells the Alton Telegraph that the person suspected of setting the fire, which also damaged or destroyed several Torahs and other religious objects inside the building. As of publication time, officials have declined to speculate on a possible motive for the fire, and have yet to officially designate it as a hate crime. They have also declined to name the suspect, but confirmed that they remain in custody as of Sunday morning. (Vanity Fair has reached out to local and federal officials, but has not received comment.)
Congregation president Zach Shemper says via statement that the synagogue has already received support from local Christian groups. “We have already had outreach from other houses of worship in the Jackson area and greatly appreciate their support in this very difficult time,” he says.
This is not the first fire members of the Beth Israel Congregation have faced. In 1967, the house of worship was bombed by members the Ku Klux Klan, which took issue with then-rabbi Perry Nussbaum’s support of the civil rights movement. As with Saturday’s fire, the synagogue’s office and library were target. In that case, as well as Saturday’s blaze, no injuries were reported. The temple has been the focus of intimidation efforts multiple times in the years since, including a bomb threats emailed in 2023 that then-rabbi Joseph Rosen linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Horhn believes this weekend’s fire shares roots with these past incidents, saying Sunday that “Acts of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents’ safety and freedom to worship … Jackson stands with Beth Israel and the Jewish community, and we’ll do everything we can to support them and hold accountable anyone who tries to spread fear and hate here.”
Eve Batey
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