City officials and faith leaders stand by Beth Israel synagogue during new year prayer meeting

It's been less than a week since that arson attack left parts of Beth Israel's synagogue scorched and the building unusable, for now.

At Thalia Mara Hall, city officials and faith leaders emphasized the importance of unity across the city and across religions in the wake of the arson.

 "It was Beth Israel the other day, it could be another church or synagogue or mosque another day, and so showing that we're all together and that we rise together," said Reverend C.J. Rhodes of Mount Helm Baptist Church.

He led folks in prayer for Beth Israel's congregation, asking for unity, healing and thanking God for the resilience of the congregation. 

"As Dr. King once said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," Rhodes prayed. "And because of the attack on Beth Israel, we see it as an attack on every house of worship, on every faith community."

"And we say that today, we declare, that no weapon formed against us shall prosper."

In remarks during the service, Beth Israel's president, Zach Shemper, thanked folks for their presence and solidarity. 

"Like many of your churches, our temple to us is more than the four walls that house our prayer books: it is the people, the memories, and the history of what it means to be Jewish in Mississippi," he said. "Thank you for standing with us and giving us strength needed to continue our Jewish journey alongside you."

This isn't the first time Beth Israel has suffered losses to its house of worship. The congregation was founded in 1860 and a fire in 1874 destroyed its first building. 

In 1967, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the temple and then later that year, bombed the home of the congregation's rabbi, Perry Nussbaum, a vocal supporter of the civil rights movement. 

"Rabbi Nussbaum would be quoted as saying, 'Judaism insists that we share all of our blessings: Judaism insists that we share all of our blessings, the moral, as well as the material,'" said Shemper, recounting the 1967 bombing. "Now, as then, that is at the very core of who we are as Jews and Americans and as humans."

Vivienne Diaz is a Sunday School teacher at Beth Israel and said that the arson left the doors to her classroom melted shut. It's been a long week of processing for her, but she said the prayer meeting left her with assurance about the support from the community.

"I think I feel assured in the fact that the Jackson community is here for us," she said. "And just one person isn't going to mute the fact that everyone else is here for us."

The congregation's spiritual leader Benjamin Russell says that they're figuring out what's next, but that they have a wealth of community resources to pull from.

"We are in the process of locating and working with local communities on where we're going to be meeting," Russell said. "We've had so much generosity that we have to kind of sort through where we are going to be next."

In the meantime, he said the congregation has been resilient through the pain brought on by the attack. 

"We have heard from so many congregants calling and just talking with us, letting us know, of course, that they are devastated," he said. "We've also seen such an outpouring from the community that I think the congregation has really taken note."

The night also included prayers for the city, its leaders and state leaders. 

"We praise you and seek your guidance for John Horhn, our new mayor, his family, and his leadership team," prayed Imam Ameen Abdur-Rashied of Masjid Muhammad. "We pray that they strive with God-consciousness and work with ethical conviction."

"We pray you that their efforts are not disheartened by grief of the past nor fear of the future." 

Horhn said that the prayers for himself, along with those for the needs of the city has been empowering for him. 

"I think that the spiritual strength of this community is what makes this place so special," Horhn said. "That gives me hope that we are gonna turn things around in Jackson."