On Tuesday, MS NOW’s Chris Hayes ended his show by telling viewers he wanted to take a moment to speak about “a piece of American history in the news.”
Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest synagogue in the state. As the “All In” host explained, the temple “has been a sanctuary for the Jewish community there since just after the Civil War.”
In 1967, nearly a century later, Beth Israel was firebombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan, who targeted the institution and its rabbi, in part, for his role in the Civil Rights Movement.
In the aftermath of that attack, Hayes recalled how the members of that temple banded together and “repaired the damage.”
“But over the weekend, amid an ongoing spate of violent antisemitic attacks and desecrations of synagogues across the country, Temple Beth Israel was burned again,” the MS NOW host shared.
According to investigators, the fire started in the synagogue’s library, which has now been destroyed. “Some of the same spaces that burned in 1967 were damaged in Saturday’s blaze,” Hayes said.
A suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, has now been indicted by a state grand jury on charges of first-degree arson on a place of worship and a hate crime enhancement.
The 19-year-old was turned in by his own father. In an affidavit, prosecutors said the man laughed as he told his father what he did and said he “finally got them.”
But, as Hayes explained, in the wake of this tragedy, almost six decades after the temple’s first firebombing, the community has come together. “Just like after the 1967 attack, there’s been an outpouring of support from temples, churches and individuals,” he said, offering to pitch in to help the synagogue “fix what’s been destroyed.” In a statement, the congregation vowed to “proudly — even defiantly — continue Jewish life in Jackson in the face of hatred.” “Amen to that,” Hayes responded. You can watch Hayes’ full commentary in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. Recommended
