The largest synagogue in Mississippi lost multiple Torahs on Saturday and part of its building after an arson attack that appears to have been specifically aimed at the Jewish sacred building.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry attributed the attack to explicitly anti-Jewish sentiment, pointing to evidence that the perpetrators targeted not only the synagogue but its Torahs — including one that survived the Nazi Holocaust. “Antisemitism is a poisonous scourge,” the ministry wrote about the attack in America. Tragically, violent antisemitism is on the rise around the world, even in the United States.
The synagogue, which was attacked on Saturday (i.e., on Jewish Shabbat), is located in the city of Jackson — in fact, it is the only synagogue in Jackson. The Israeli Foreign Ministry’s full statement on X declared, “We are appalled by the arson attack on the synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, and by the desecration of this place of worship and the Torah scrolls it houses.”
After condemning antisemitism in the strongest terms, the ministry added, “We are confident that the Mississippi authorities will take all necessary measures to investigate this despicable act and bring those responsible to justice.” A suspect is under arrest, and no congregants suffered injuries.
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The ministry linked to a report from Mississippi Today, which provided more details on the fire in Jackson’s Beth Israel Congregation synagogue based on a discussion with the fire department. Jackson Fire Department assessed the fire as deliberate arson.
Mississippi Today put the attack in the context of a 1967 KKK bombing at the same synagogue, which happened because the rabbi at that time supported civil rights. It is tragic that Democrats are as violently hateful toward Jews today as they were during the civil rights era. And regardless of the political affiliation of this particular arsonist, Democrats are absolutely fueling antisemitic violence and have been especially since the Oct. 7 Hamas atrocities in Israel.
From Mississippi Today:
The Jackson Fire Department, the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested a suspect Saturday night in the latest blaze after the fire department ruled it arson, according to chief fire investigator Charles Felton. Investigators did not immediately release the name of the suspect or the charges the person could face…
The library and administrative offices of Jackson’s only synagogue were reduced to charred ruins. Two Torahs were destroyed and five were damaged in the flames that erupted during Shabbat, the weekly Jewish day of rest, according to temple leaders. One Torah that survived the Holocaust was in a glass case and was undamaged in the fire.
Beth Israel has paused services and has not set a deadline for resuming them. It does not appear that the fire department or other authorities have since released the name of the suspect or any details on what his motives might have been, though multiple local authorities have also attributed the fiery attack to antisemitism, given the circumstances of the arson.
How tragic it is that in 2026 in America, Jews have to be afraid of random acts of antisemitic terrorism.
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