Friday, 16 January 2026 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika Category/Kategorie: GeneralReading Time: 3minutes
Beth Israel Congregation is a ReformJewish congregation and synagogue located at 5315 Old Canton Road in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Organized in 1860 by Jews of German background, it is the only Jewish synagogue in Jackson. Beth Israel built the first synagogue in Mississippi in 1867, and, after it burned down, its 1874 replacement was at one time the oldest religious building in Jackson.
Originally Orthodox, the congregation joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1874. After going through a series of rabbis, and periods without one, the congregation hired Meyer Lovitt as rabbi in 1929; he would remain until 1954. The congregation moved to a new building in 1941.
Dr. Perry Nussbaum, Beth Israel’s rabbi from 1954 to 1973, was active in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1967, the congregation moved to a new synagogue building, and both the new building and Nussbaum’s house were bombed by the Ku Klux Klan that year. In 2003, Valerie Cohen became the congregation’s first female rabbi. Rabbi Rosen began at Beth Israel Congregation in July 2019.
On January 10, 2026, a pre-dawn fire severely damaged the synagogue. The cause of the fire was determined to be arson, and a suspect was arrested later than day. No congregants were injured, but the fire destroyed parts of the administrative offices, library, and several Torah scrolls. The suspect accidentally caused severe burns to his face, hands, and ankles during the attack, and was hospitalized afterwards. Fire officials said the building narrowly avoided total structural collapse due to the rapid response of emergency crews. The suspect in the arson case admitted to targeting the synagogue due to its “Jewish ties,” referring to the building as the “synagogue of Satan.” Federal authorities stated that the language used by the suspect reflected antisemitic ideology and that the attack was being investigated as a hate crime targeting a religious institution. Prosecutors charged the suspect with arson of a religious building and indicated that additional federal hate crime charges were under consideration.
