One person was arrested Saturday evening after a fire ripped through a Mississippi synagogue, severely damaging the historic house of worship, in what authorities are calling an arson.
No worshipers were injured in the fire, which broke out Saturday at Congregation Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi, shortly after 3 a.m., officials said. Photos showed the charred remains of a synagogue administrative office and library, where several Torahs had been destroyed or damaged.
Jackson Mayor John Horhn confirmed that one person had been arrested following an investigation that also included the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“Acts of anti-Semitism, racism and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against the safety of residents and freedom of worship,” Horhn said in a statement.
He did not provide the name of the suspect or the charges against him.
The synagogue, the largest in Mississippi, was the site of a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1967 — a response to the congregation’s role in civil rights activities, according to the Institute for Southern Jewish Life, which also houses its office in the building.
“As Jackson’s only synagogue, Beth Israel is a much-loved institution, and it is the fellowship of our neighbors and the broader community that will see us through this,” the institute said in a statement.
Synagogue president Zach Shemper said the congregation was still assessing the damage and had received contacts from other houses of worship, according to Mississippi Today.
A Torah that survived the Holocaust was not damaged by the fire, the outlet reported.
