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19-Year-Old Charged in Jackson Synagogue Arson as Hate-Crime Probes Move Forward

The fire destroyed key religious materials, prompting Beth Israel to hold services in borrowed church space.

A historical marker describing the 1967 bombings of Beth Israel Congregation and it's rabbi's home stands in Jackson, Mississippi.
Beth Israel Congregation President Zach Shemper stands for a portrait in front of the synagogue's closed entrance on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, in Jackson, Mississippi.
Beth Israel Congregation's president, Zach Shemper, and student rabbi, Benjamin Russell pray alongside Jackson, Mississippi, Mayor John Horhn at an interfaith service in Jackson on Jan. 15, 2025. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Caution tape and flowers cover the entrance to the Beth Israel Congregation, a synagogue that was set on fire early Saturday morning, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Jackson, Miss.

Overview

  • The FBI says 19-year-old Stephen Spencer Pittman confessed to setting the blaze and called the temple “the synagogue of Satan.”
  • He faces a federal arson charge involving property used in interstate commerce and a state first-degree arson count with a hate-crime enhancement.
  • The blaze heavily damaged the synagogue’s library and offices, destroyed two Torah scrolls, and left five others under assessment for smoke damage.
  • Congregation leaders plan to rebuild, with services relocating to local churches and offers of replacement Torahs arriving from other synagogues; the president estimates at least a year to restore the building.
  • The attack evokes the 1967 Ku Klux Klan bombings of Beth Israel and comes as reported antisemitic incidents have climbed to record levels in recent years.