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A person was taken into custody late Saturday after a fire ripped through a synagogue in Mississippi, heavily damaging the historic house of worship in what authorities say was an act of arson. <\/p>\n
No congregants were injured in the blaze, which broke out at the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday, officials said. Photos showed the charred remains of an administrative office and synagogue library, where several Torahs were destroyed or damaged.<\/p>\n
Jackson Mayor John Horhn confirmed that a person was taken into custody following an investigation that also included the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.<\/p>\n
\u201cActs of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents\u2019 safety and freedom to worship,\u201d Horhn said in a statement.<\/p>\n
He did not provide the name of the suspect or the charges that the person is facing.<\/p>\n
The synagogue, the largest in Mississippi, was the site of a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1967 \u2014 a response to the congregation\u2019s role in civil rights activities, according to the Institute for Southern Jewish Life<\/a>, which also houses its office in the building. <\/p>\n \u201cAs Jackson\u2019s only synagogue, Beth Israel is a beloved institution, and it is the fellowship of our neighbors and extended community that will see us through,\u201d the institute said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The synagogue’s president, Zach Shemper, said the congregation was still assessing the damage and had received outreach from other houses of worship, according to Mississippi Today. <\/a><\/p>\n One Torah that survived the Holocaust was not damaged in the fire, the outlet reported. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n