Jewish Insider’s Haley Strack reports a scenario of Mississipi burning:
A suspect is under arrest for an act of arson that significantly damaged Mississippi’s largest synagogue early Saturday morning, authorities reported.
Local law enforcement arrested a suspect whom they believe purposefully set fire to Beth Israel Congregation shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, Jackson Mayor John Horhn confirmed. The suspect’s name and motive have not been disclosed.
Beth Israel Congregation is the only synagogue in Jackson, the state’s capital and most populous city. The historic building also houses the offices of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which supports Jewish life in the region.
Everything old is new again:
Located in a major hub of the Civil Rights Movement, Beth Israel was bombed in 1967 by the Ku Klux Klan over the rabbi’s support for racial justice — including providing chaplain services to activists incarcerated for challenging segregated bussing in the state.
Bad news, good news:
No congregants were injured in Saturday’s blaze. Two Torah scrolls were destroyed in the fire, and five more were damaged. A Torah that survived the Holocaust, which was kept in a glass case, was unharmed. The congregation’s library and administrative office were ruined, and the congregation has canceled services indefinitely.
“We have already had outreach from other houses of worship in the Jackson area and greatly appreciate their support in this very difficult time,” the synagogue president, Zach Shemper, said in a statement. About 3,000 Jews live in Mississippi, comprising 0.1% of its 3 million residents. The southern state is home to around a dozen synagogues.
Need I add the suspect’s motive remains in doubt?
Via John Podhoretz/X.
MIssissippi’s largest synagogue destroyed in an arson attack on the Sabbath. The fact this isn’t the biggest story of the morning, or the day so far, should tell you just how normalized anti-Semitic action is becoming.https://t.co/NcDLqTpWD6
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) January 11, 2026
