The flames that tore through Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, on Jan. 10 destroyed its library, administrative office and at least two Torah scrolls. Smoke and soot reached every part of the synagogue’s sanctuary, rendering it unusable for the time being. No one was inside. No congregants were injured. The building survived, but the fire is still under investigation, and a suspect has been charged.
This was not just any building. Beth Israel, Jackson’s only synagogue, has long stood as one of Mississippi’s few Jewish congregations, serving generations of families. It has endured migrations, transitions and the many shifts that have shaped Southern Jewish life more broadly.
This is not the first time Jackson has had to reflect and act on what a synagogue means to the city beyond its walls.
On March 19, 1967, Palm Sunday, as the Civil Rights era reshaped Mississippi, a new building for the Beth Israel Congregation was dedicated in Jackson. It replaced an earlier synagogue on Woodrow Wilson Avenue. A crowd gathered. Catholic and Episcopal bishops affixed silver mezuzahs to the sanctuary pillars—gifts from Christians. Other Protestant clergy, including a leader of one of the city’s Black churches, attended the dedication. And Beth Israel’s rabbi, Perry Nussbaum, stood at the center.
Bishop Joseph Brunini, head of the state’s Roman Catholic diocese, stated that the mezuzah was given “in a spirit of atonement for any injuries Christian people may have inflicted on the Jews.”
The Associated Press called the gathering a display of interfaith cooperation “apparently unprecedented in the nation.”
Inside, Rabbi Nussbaum addressed the crowd in Hebrew and English, dedicating the fifth synagogue in the 107-year history of the Beth Israel congregation. His words were steady, but he was not naive.
“This is certainly the first time, I would guess, maybe all over the country, where the highest dignitaries of the churches are not just present physically but have given us something and put the mezuzahs on the wall.”
Despite the moment, Rabbi Nussbaum confessed doubt. In an interview, he said, “The test, to my mind, will be when they ask me to preach from their pulpit.”
That same spring, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued new guidelines on Jewish-Christian relations, recommending joint social action and open houses at houses of worship. In Jackson, such action had already taken root. Interfaith leaders, including Rabbi Nussbaum, had helped form the Committee of Concern—a coalition that raised more than $100,000 to rebuild over 40 Black churches burned by opponents of the Civil Rights movement.
That was 1967. This is 2026.
The Beth Israel of that era still stands—scarred now, but not destroyed. In the weeks ahead, investigators will learn more about the motives behind the arson. But a deeper question remains for Jackson to consider: will the broader Jackson community show up again?
In 1875, when Beth Israel dedicated a new synagogue, the city did. In 1967, it did again.
Today, the city has begun to respond once more. Local churches have offered Beth Israel space
to worship. Civic leaders have condemned the fire not just as an act of arson, but as a wound to Jackson’s shared life. Rabbi Nussbaum once wondered whether Christian leaders would invite him into their pulpits. In 2026, some have opened their sanctuaries to Jewish worship.
This is not the first time Beth Israel has been targeted. And Jackson carries a legacy of interfaith solidarity. That legacy is still alive. Let’s choose it again.
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