The same Mississippi synagogue that was bombed in the 1960s by the Ku Klux Klan was under attack again over the weekend.
A suspect is in custody after officials said the person started a fire at the Beth Israel Congregation Saturday night in Jackson, Mississippi, shortly after 3 am. Jackson Mayor John Horhn said he is treating this act as an act of terrorism.
“Acts of antisemitism, racism and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole,” Horhn said. “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 library and administration offices in the synagogue were ruined in the fire, Mississippi Today reported. The news outlet said that two Torahs were destroyed and five were heavily damaged by the flames. One of the Torahs unharmed in the fire was one that survived the Holocaust and was stored in a glass case in the synagogue. The fire also charred the synagogue’s Tree of Life, the plaque that honors and records special occasions for members of the congregation. No one was injured in the fire.
“We have already had outreach from other houses of worship in the Jackson area and greatly appreciate their support in this very difficult time,” congregation president, Zach Shemper, told Mississippi Today.
Officials haven’t formally classified the fire as a hate crime, nor have they released the name of the suspect in custody. The Jackson Fire Department’s chief fire investigator, Charles Felton, said firefighters had responded shortly after 3 a.m. to a possible church fire, and the arson investigators were called in after the fire division couldn’t immediately determine the origin of the fire.
Mississippi Today reports that members of the synagogue thought at first the fire had started due to lightning and thunderstorms that rolled through Mississippi, but no evidence was found to support that.
Other agencies supporting the Jackson Fire Department’s Arson Investigation Division include the Jackson Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“I was at Beth Israel yesterday, and I saw firsthand how our partners stepped up,” Mayor Horhn said. “Their work led to the swift arrest of a suspect, and we’ll continue to support their efforts as the investigation moves forward.”
In 1967 the synagogue, which has been around since before the Civil War, was bombed by Ku Klux Klan members. Jackson’s mayor said he remembers that attack even though he was young.
“I do remember that the Jewish community and the African American community in those days formed alliances and partnerships to fight racism, to fight injustice, to fight mistreatment of citizens for whatever reason,” Horhn told Mississippi Today.
Antisemitic attacks have risen dramatically in recent years, from the Tree of Life shooting in 2018 to the Bondi Beach terror attack just before Christmas. The Anti-Defamation League reported over 9,000 documented anti-semitic attacks in 2024 alone — the highest number on record since they began tracking such data in 1979.
The most recent attack remains under investigation.
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