An arsonist set fire to Beth Israel Congregation, the largest synagogue in Mississippi. A house of worship whose history stretches back to 1860 was reduced to ruins in a single moment by the flames of Jew-hatred.
The arson against Beth Israel is a repeat of history. In 1967, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the same synagogue in a campaign of terror directed at Rabbi Perry Nussbaum, whose home was also bombed for his righteous alliance with the Civil Rights Movement.
Domestic terrorism against Jews never happens in a vacuum. Instead of extinguishing the fires of antisemitism, American politics is often guilty of fanning the flames.