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The suspect in the arson attack on Mississippi's oldest synagogue, Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, has confessed to setting the fire because of the building's "Jewish ties." According to the FBI affidavit, he even laughed about the act, declaring that "he finally got them."
What a racist cretin.
The accused cretin, Stephen Spencer Pittman, targeted Beth Israel and the associated Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in the early hours of January 10.
The accused cretin, Stephen Spencer Pittman, targeted Beth Israel and the associated Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in the early hours of January 10.
Security footage captured a man pouring what appeared to be gasoline inside the synagogue. Pittman later admitted to his father that he had committed the crime, referring to the buildings as the "synagogue of Satan." He described the details with amusement: stopping at a gas station for fuel, removing his license plate, smashing windows with an axe, dousing the interior, and igniting the blaze with a torch lighter.
A genius among cretins.
The father's intervention thankfully proved decisive. Pittman texted him beforehand, sending a photograph of the synagogue with the message "there's a furnace in the back." When his father pleaded with him to come home, the young man replied defiantly that he was "due for a home run" and that he "did my research."
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The father's intervention thankfully proved decisive. Pittman texted him beforehand, sending a photograph of the synagogue with the message "there's a furnace in the back." When his father pleaded with him to come home, the young man replied defiantly that he was "due for a home run" and that he "did my research."
Physical evidence corroborated the confession: burns on Pittman's body [as he was just learning how to use fire] text messages, and location data placed him at the scene.
He now faces federal charges of maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive.
The destruction was severe. The library and administrative offices were heavily burned. Two Torah scrolls were destroyed entirely, and five others damaged. One of the surviving scrolls had endured the Holocaust and had been preserved in a glass case, a quiet testament to resilience now scarred once more.
This is not the first time Beth Israel has faced such hatred. In the 1960s, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the synagogue because of its courageous stand during the civil rights era. History repeats itself in the most depressing ways by the lowest functioning people in our society.
Jackson Fire Chief RaSean Thomas spoke for many when he said: "We stand with this community and affirm that hate has no home here. Jackson is stronger when we stand together."
On Monday, yellow police tape still cordoned off the entrances. Broken glass and soot marked the scene, yet people had already begun to lay flowers at the threshold, small gestures of solidarity amid the wreckage.
Beth Israel remains Mississippi's only synagogue in Jackson, and it is closed indefinitely while repairs begin.
Such attacks don't occur in isolation. Antisemitic incidents have surged dramatically in recent years, from the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in 2018 to the Bondi Beach terror attack just before Christmas. The Anti-Defamation League recorded over 9,000 documented antisemitic incidents in 2024 alone, the highest figure since tracking began in 1979.
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This arson in Mississippi is another grim marker. It reveals not merely one disturbed individual, but a broader sickness: the willingness of some to target Jews precisely because they are Jews, to revel in destruction, and to frame it as some form of justice.
He now faces federal charges of maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive.
The destruction was severe. The library and administrative offices were heavily burned. Two Torah scrolls were destroyed entirely, and five others damaged. One of the surviving scrolls had endured the Holocaust and had been preserved in a glass case, a quiet testament to resilience now scarred once more.
This is not the first time Beth Israel has faced such hatred. In the 1960s, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the synagogue because of its courageous stand during the civil rights era. History repeats itself in the most depressing ways by the lowest functioning people in our society.
Jackson Fire Chief RaSean Thomas spoke for many when he said: "We stand with this community and affirm that hate has no home here. Jackson is stronger when we stand together."
On Monday, yellow police tape still cordoned off the entrances. Broken glass and soot marked the scene, yet people had already begun to lay flowers at the threshold, small gestures of solidarity amid the wreckage.
Beth Israel remains Mississippi's only synagogue in Jackson, and it is closed indefinitely while repairs begin.
Such attacks don't occur in isolation. Antisemitic incidents have surged dramatically in recent years, from the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in 2018 to the Bondi Beach terror attack just before Christmas. The Anti-Defamation League recorded over 9,000 documented antisemitic incidents in 2024 alone, the highest figure since tracking began in 1979.
If you enjoy Brain Flushings and would like to subscribe or Buy Me a Coffee, and check out the sponsors on this page, I would appreciate it, as it supports my work and my coffee drinking habit. No pressure and subscribing is free.
This arson in Mississippi is another grim marker. It reveals not merely one disturbed individual, but a broader sickness: the willingness of some to target Jews precisely because they are Jews, to revel in destruction, and to frame it as some form of justice.
The laughter in the confession is chilling, a reminder that hatred often arrives wearing a smile. Yet the congregation endures, as it has for over a century and a half, determined to rebuild and to continue bearing witness in a world that too often requires such witness.
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