A Synagogue Burns in the South

The burning of a synagogue at Jackson, Mississippi is not only another indicator of the resurgence of antisemitism — it is an American tragedy. The chief of investigations for the Jackson Fire Department’s Arson Investigation Division, Charles Felton, predicts that the suspect, now in custody, will face arson charges. The blaze began in the small hours of Shabbat. The synagogue, Beth Israel Congregation, was Jackson’s only Jewish sanctuary.That no life was lost is worth a prayer of thanks, but there is still plenty to mourn. Our Sharon Kehnemui reports that the building is “uninhabitable” and will be shuttered indefinitely. The American Jewish Committee relates that “several Torah scrolls were destroyed.” Jewish law ordains that when a Torah scroll is destroyed, it is owed the dignity of burial in a cemetery. If one is merely dropped, the congregation is required to fast in atonement.Adding to the abhorrence of the arson is that this is not the first time Beth Israel, which was founded in 1860, has faced flames. The synagogue’s website relates that “On September 18, 1967, Beth Israel’s new temple on Old Canton Road was bombed by local Ku Klux Klan members.” Two months later the Klan, apoplectic over the synagogue’s commitment to civil rights, hurled bombs into the home of the congregation’s rabbi, Perry Nussbaum.Beth Israel’s president, Zach Shempter, tells CNN that “We are a resilient people. With the support from the community, we will rebuild. Beth Israel Congregation has been the Jewish spiritual home in Jackson, Mississippi, for over 160 years.” Mr. Shemper calls the synagogue a “beloved institution.” The leader of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Jim Berk, calls the attack an “assault on the heart of Jewish life in the South.”Mr. Berk adds that “When antisemitism strikes, it tears at the fabric of American life.” Not the least because it does violence to the hope George Washington expressed in respect of the synagogue at Newport: “May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”Antisemitism in America, though, has become undeniable. Just days before the burning of Beth Israel, the Commissioner of the New York Police Department, Jessica Tisch, disclosed that Jews are the target of more hate crimes in New York City, 57 percent of the total, than every other group combined. Days after that, a crowd gathered outside a yeshiva at Queens to chant “we support Hamas.” That went too far even for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.This attack comes some seven years after the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue at Pittsburgh that killed 11 people, the worst attack ever perpetrated against Jews in America. It would be difficult to argue that things have not gotten worse since then. While the motives of the suspect are not yet known, it is not too soon to say that attacks on Jews — from Jackson to Bondi Beach — appear to be escalating in frequency and ferocity. Even as worry is warranted, so is determination. The chief executive officer, Michele Schipper, of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which is based at Beth Israel, tells the Associated Press that a Torah scroll that survived the Holocaust, protected by a glass case, withstood the flames and is intact. Ms. Schipper, a past president of Beth Israel, vows that her community is “devastated but ready to rebuild.”

A Synagogue Burns in the South

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