Beth Israel Arson Recalls Sordid Past

Beth Israel arson recalls sordid past

Tom Lehrer’s “National Brotherhood Week” on “That Was The Week That Was” — TW3 —notes, in the introduction, that “During National Brotherhood Week various special events are arranged to drive home the message of brotherhood — this year, for example, on the first day of the week, Malcolm X was killed, which gives you an idea of how effective the

How an ‘all-American boy’ became a Mississippi synagogue arson suspect

There was little warning that Stephen Spencer Pittman, who police arrested for arson, was poised to strike Jackson’s lone synagogue.

The firebombing of Beth Israel in Mississippi strikes at the heart of religious freedom, dignity and peace

In the early morning hours of Jan. 11, 2026, flames tore through Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi — the state's largest and oldest synagogue. The fire destroyed the library, two sacred Torahs and the Tree of Life plaque honoring generations of meaningful moments. But this was not an accident. This was an act of deliberate hate. According to an FBI criminal complaint, 19-year-old Stephen Spencer Pittman confessed to breaking a win…

‘Strong’ Jew-hatred in US south behind arson attack on Mississippi synagogue, historian says – The American Israelite Newspaper

Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Courtesy of Beth Israel CongregationLibrary at Beth Israel Congregation, a Reform synagogue in Jackson, Miss., which was damaged in an arson attack on Jan. 10, 2026 (JNS) — Two attacks at a synagogue in Jackson, Miss., some 60 years apart, had the same root: antisemitism in the American South. So argues historian Gary Zola, a rabbi, executive director emeritus at the American Jewish Archives and professor emeritus …

Salter - Echoes: Mississippi has a precedent for the senseless arson of Beth Israel synagogue

Below is an opinion column by Sid Salter: After the recent attack, churches opened their doors to the Jewish community; civic leaders of various faiths and backgrounds came together to condemn it.