Mississippi’s Largest Synagogue, Once Bombed by the KKK, Destroyed by Arsonist: ‘We Are Devastated but Ready to Rebuild’

A historic synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi — Beth Israel Congregation, the city’s oldest Jewish synagogue — was damaged overnight in an arson attack. The congregation previously survived a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1967.

Charles D. Felton Jr., chief of fire investigations for the Jackson Fire Department, said crews responded to a report of a fire at the synagogue around 3:10 a.m. local time on Sunday, Jan. 11. When firefighters arrived, they saw flames coming through the building’s windows.

After the fire was put out, investigators began working to determine what caused it. Felton said fire patterns and video surveillance led investigators to classify the blaze as “incendiary,” and a case number was opened for arson. He also confirmed that a suspect — whose name has not been released — was arrested.

Felton said there were no injuries reported among firefighters. The suspect, however, suffered non-life-threatening burns and was taken into custody at the hospital. The building was closed at the time of the fire.

Beth Israel Congregation President Zach Shemper said the synagogue was still assessing the extent of the damage.

“As Jackson’s only synagogue, Beth Israel is a beloved institution, and it is the fellowship of our neighbors and extended community that will see us through,” Shemper wrote. “We are still assessing the damage to the building, but will be continuing our worship services and other programs — locations to be determined.”

Photos showed severe damage to the synagogue’s library and administrative offices.

According to Mississippi Today, two Torahs were destroyed and five were damaged. Temple leaders told the outlet that one Torah that survived the Holocaust was kept in a glass case and was not harmed.

“We are a resilient people. With support from our community, we will rebuild,” Shemper added, announcing that the community had established the Beth Israel Rebuilding Fund to collect donations to help repair the building.

Jackson Mayor John Horhn said in a Facebook statement that the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Joint Terrorism Task Force are involved in the investigation.

The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, a nonprofit that provides services, education, and programming supporting Jewish communities in the South, is based at Beth Israel, and many of its employees are members of the congregation. In a statement, the institute said it was grateful no one was injured and that staff would not be working in the building for the time being.

Local and national figures have urged the community to take a stand against religious hatred.

“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,” Horhn wrote on Facebook. “Targeting people because of their faith, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation is morally wrong, un-American, and completely incompatible with the values of this city.”

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) said its leadership was “outraged” by the arson attack, adding that “antisemitic violence must be confronted clearly, forcefully, and without hesitation.”

“While no one was hurt, the synagogue was extensively damaged, several Torah scrolls were destroyed, and the congregation — the only synagogue in Jackson — was forced to cancel services indefinitely,” the organization said in part. “This hateful act is only the most recent symptom of the dangerous rising antisemitism facing Jewish communities across the country and around the world.”

Founded in 1860, Beth Israel Congregation is Mississippi’s largest synagogue and became known for its role in advancing civil rights in the 1960s. In September 1967, Ku Klux Klan members bombed the temple.

Two months later, the same group bombed the home of Beth Israel’s rabbi, Perry Nussbaum, who had advocated for integration, according to the synagogue’s website. He and his wife were home during the bombing but were not injured.

On Beth Israel’s history page, the synagogue says the bombings “helped to galvanize Jackson’s white community, who realized that resistance to integration had gone too far.”

“Since then, members of Beth Israel have played a vital part in building a more racially just society in Jackson,” the synagogue added.

Shemper said several local churches have offered their buildings for congregants to use as worship space while the synagogue rebuilds.