A suspect has been detained in connection with a suspected arson attack that set a Mississippi synagogue on fire, resulting in the destruction of Torahs and triggering an investigation that includes the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The fire erupted shortly after 3 a.m. at the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, which is the largest synagogue in the state. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported among the congregants, according to officials.
Images from the site revealed extensive damage to the synagogue’s administrative office and library, where several Torah scrolls were either destroyed or suffered significant damage.
Jackson Mayor John Horhn announced that authorities have taken a suspect into custody as part of an investigation that also involves the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“Acts of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents’ safety and freedom to worship,” Mayor Horhn stated emphatically in a formal statement.
“Acts of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents’ safety and freedom to worship,” Horhn said in a statement.
Officials did not immediately release the name of the suspect or what charges the person was facing.
Services at the synagogue will be suspended indefinitely following the fire. (Beth Israel)
Beth Israel Congregation was previously targeted in a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1967, an attack linked to the synagogue’s involvement in civil rights efforts, according to the Institute for Southern Jewish Life, which also operates from the building.
“As Jackson’s only synagogue, Beth Israel is a beloved institution, and it is the fellowship of our neighbors and extended community that will see us through,” the institute said in a statement.
The American Jewish Committee also released a statement saying it was “outraged” by the alleged attack.
“This hateful act is only the most recent symptom of the dangerous rising antisemitism facing Jewish communities across the country and around the world,” it said.
Zach Shemper, president of Beth Israel Congregation, stands in ashes outside the congregation’s temple hours after the building was damaged by fire Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 in Jackson, Miss. (Allen Siegler/Mississippi Today via AP)
The Anti-Defamation League called the incident a “deliberate, targeted attack on the Jewish community.”
“Beth Israel survived a KKK bombing in 1967,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “That it has been attacked again, amid a surge of antisemitic incidents across the US, is a stark reminder: antisemitic violence is escalating, and it demands total condemnation and swift action from everyone — including community leaders, law enforcement, and government officials.”
The synagogue’s president, Zach Shemper, said the congregation was still assessing the damage and had received outreach from other houses of worship, according to Mississippi Today. Shemper added that services will be suspended indefinitely.
One Torah that survived the Holocaust was not damaged in the fire, the outlet reported.
