History doesn’t usually repeat itself exactly. But this past weekend in Jackson, Mississippi, it did — down to the gasoline, the flames, and the synagogue called Beth Israel.
This past weekend, a 19-year-old broke into Beth Israel Congregation, set it on fire, and reportedly told his father he had “finally got them.” A synagogue. A library. A place of worship—turned to ash.
For many in Jackson’s Jewish community, it felt like being transported back in time.
Because Beth Israel has burned before. In 1967, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the same congregation after its rabbi, Perry Nussbaum, supported the Civil Rights Movement. Back then, Jews were punished for standing with Black Americans. Today, the threat looks different—lies, slurs, and online conspiracy theories—but the story underneath hasn’t changed. Jews remain the convenient villain.
Why This Keeps Happening
Antisemitism endures because it offers simple answers to complex anxieties. When societies feel threatened and unstable, they seek scapegoats. Jews occupy a unique position: visible enough to notice, small enough to target, historically cast as both powerful insiders and foreign outsiders.
In 1967, white supremacists couldn’t accept a changing racial order, so they targeted Jews standing with Black Americans. Today, in an era of digital radicalization, Jews are accused of being the “hidden hand” behind whatever grievance someone wants to nurse.
This arson wasn’t just an attack on a place of faith. It was an attack on a story—a 160-year-old Jewish presence in Mississippi, a living reminder that Jews belong there. The suspect used an axe and gasoline, but what really drove him was a narrative that says Jews are the problem.
↑ Back to Table of ContentsWhen Hate Backfires
Here’s what extremists never understand: attacking synagogues doesn’t make their world simpler. It makes their lies more visible.
In 1967, the bombing didn’t scare Jackson into silence. It shocked the city awake, forcing people who had stayed neutral to confront what was happening. As one local leader said at the time, “resistance to integration had gone too far.” The attack turned antisemitic violence into a Mississippi problem, not just a Jewish one.
We’re watching that same pattern now. Yes, the fire destroyed a library. Yes, sacred scrolls were damaged. But it didn’t destroy a community. Churches have already opened their doors so Beth Israel can continue gathering. Neighbors are showing up.
↑ Back to Table of ContentsWhat the Flames Revealed
The fire exposed how easily antisemitic myths still ignite when spread online and fed into young, angry minds. But it also revealed something stronger.
When a 19-year-old reportedly laughs at a burning synagogue, he thinks he’s struck a blow. In reality, he’s reminded the world why Jewish communities matter, and why none of us can afford to look away.
The story of Beth Israel didn’t end in 1967. And it didn’t end this weekend either.
The only answer to scapegoating is solidarity. The only answer to hate is presence. And in Jackson,just as nearly sixty years ago — neighbors are answering with exactly that.
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