Beth Israel Congregation in northeast Jackson, Mississippi, reopened its doors to local media as it moves through the months-long process of rebuilding after an arson attack that damaged the synagogue’s religious spaces and belongings.
Leaders said the fire, set in the predawn hours of Jan. 10, destroyed many items in the sanctuary and adjoining areas and left the building with shattered windows, exposed structural elements and damage that required extensive cleanup and remediation.
In the months since the attack, congregants have continued to work through repairs and planning, with officials saying they aim to begin construction later in the summer and to host services again by the Jewish New Year in October 2027. They also said asbestos abatement alone is expected to cost about $2 million, while the total rebuilding cost is still uncertain without bids from construction companies.
Rachel Myers, a congregation leader who teaches at the synagogue’s religious school, said the congregation has kept its “Tree of Life” reminder visible during the rebuilding process. She said the commemorative brass plaque on the building wall, which once displayed the Tree of Life in the sanctuary, was damaged but withstood the fire that intentionally set earlier this year. Myers said specialists are restoring the plaque and also working on five Torahs and religious tapestries, while congregants use other materials in the interim.
During the synagogue’s recovery, Myers said she taped up a picture of a tree drawn by a child from the congregation’s school. She said the children’s drawings reflect how she and other congregants have used the attack to reinforce lessons about resilience and faith, including continued religious instruction for students.
Myers told reporters that the fire made members stronger and that the congregation will continue its activities despite the attempt to disrupt them. She also described the congregation planning ways to invite the public back into the synagogue space.
Sarah Thomas, the congregation’s first vice president and a member for 37 years, said congregants were able to walk through the synagogue for the first time since the fire. She said about 60 members toured the building, and she described the interior as different from what they had known, with many walls now showing mostly bare cinderblock and empty rafters after the fire exposed asbestos in the ceiling. Thomas said the heating and air conditioning system had not yet been remediated, but she said cleanup work is 95% complete.
Zach Shemper, the congregation president, said many holy items were destroyed, including Torahs that were housed in the synagogue’s library where he said the first flames were set. Shemper also said video surveillance showed a person breaking into the building and pouring accelerant.
Federal prosecutors, according to the reporting, say a Madison County man, Stephen Spencer Pittman, attacked the synagogue. Pittman, who prosecutors said usually goes by his middle name, has pleaded not guilty to three federal charges of arson, damage to religious property and using fire to commit a felony.
According to prosecutors’ filings described in the report, Pittman was arrested hours after the fire while he was being treated at a local hospital for severe burns. The court documents cited in the reporting allege he confessed his crimes to law enforcement and referred to Beth Israel as the “synagogue of Satan.”
The report also described prosecutors’ allegations based on surveillance video from inside the synagogue, including that a man was seen splashing liquid and that prosecutors said Pittman called his father after setting the fire and laughed as he told him what he had done.
Congregants’ accounts of the rebuilding emphasize the role of religious community life as well as the physical restoration. Thomas said one of the drawings taped inside the building was made by her daughter, Ruby, showing water overcoming flames with a rainbow. Myers said that whatever the attacker meant to do, “it only made us stronger.”