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Suspect arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire damages a historic Mississippi synagogue
The arson destroyed multiple Torah scrolls and the synagogue’s library; a suspect was charged and federal agencies are investigating possible hate-crime motives.
- On Saturday, Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi caught fire around 3 a.m., and a suspect was arrested on suspicion of arson late Saturday, authorities said.
- Jackson Fire Department's Arson Investigation Division, working with federal partners FBI and ATF, determined the blaze was deliberately set and investigators ruled out accidental causes.
- Photos from the scene show the library and administrative offices of Beth Israel Congregation ruined, with two destroyed Torahs and five additional Torahs assessed for smoke damage.
- Services have been suspended indefinitely as Beth Israel Congregation leadership coordinates with local churches and the Institute of Southern Jewish Life for temporary worship space in the coming weeks.
- Organized in 1860 and bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967, Beth Israel Congregation's targeting comes amid rising antisemitic hate crimes nationwide reaching record highs in 2024.
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94 Articles
94 Articles
San Diego Union Tribune+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
FBI: Suspect in Mississippi synagogue fire targeted institution because of its ‘Jewish ties’
By SOPHIE BATES and MIKE SCHNEIDER JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The FBI says that a suspect in the arson fire at a Mississippi synagogue admitted to targeting the institution because of its “Jewish ties.” Stephen Spencer Pittman was charged Monday with maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive. In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi on Monday, the FBI said the suspect confessed to lighting a fir…
·San Diego, United States
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Idaho Press+10 Reposted by 10 other sources
FBI says suspect in Mississippi synagogue fire admitted to targeting institution because of its 'Jewish ties'
FBI says suspect in Mississippi synagogue fire admitted to targeting institution because of its 'Jewish ties.'
·Cherokee County, United States
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Total News Sources94
Leaning Left17Leaning Right17Center32Last UpdatedBias Distribution48% Center
Bias Distribution
- 48% of the sources are Center
48% Center
L 26%
C 48%
R 26%
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