Bomb threat cancels programs at Jewish synagogue in Jackson

A bomb threat prompted cancellation of Sunday morning programs at Mississippi’s largest Jewish synagogue, Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson.

Federal and local authorities worked to clear the synagogue after temple leaders received the threat Sunday morning. Sources said the FBI shared with congregation leaders on Sunday that they did not find the threat to be credible, though emergency responders remained on site through the morning.

“This morning Beth Israel Congregation received an emailed bomb threat. Out of an abundance of caution, synagogue leadership decided to cancel today’s on-site programming,” a Sunday morning statement from Beth Israel Congregation said. “Since we received the threat we have been in constant communication with local and federal law enforcement, whose current assessment is that this threat is non-credible. We’re grateful to them for their swift action in ensuring our community’s safety.”

This is the latest of several similar threats to Jewish places of worship across Mississippi over the past week. On Thursday, federal and local authorities worked to clear temples in Tupelo and Columbus after they received bomb threats. Regarding those earlier threats, the FBI publicly called them “hoax incidents” and they had received “no information to indicate a specific and credible threat.”

Jewish people across America have been on heightened alert in the midst of a drastic recent uptick of anti-Semitic threats and violence. The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks threats against Jewish people, logged more incidents in 2022 than any year they’ve tracked since 1979.

And since the latest war between Israel and Hamas began in October of this year, the group said on Dec. 11, anti-Semitic incidents in America have risen by 337%.

“The lid to the sewers is off, and Jewish communities all across the country are being inundated with hate,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said this week. “Public officials and college leaders must turn down the temperature and take clear action to show this behavior is unacceptable to prevent more violence.”

The Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson is no stranger to violence. In 1967, the synagogue was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan as its leaders were deeply involved in the civil rights movement and efforts to extend voting rights to Black Mississippians. Later that same year, Rabbi Perry Nussbaum’s home was bombed.

“While this has been an unsettling event, we have every expectation we will shortly confirm this threat was intended only to induce fear,” the Sunday morning statement from Beth Israel Congregation said. “Sadly, today’s threat is not unlike those we’ve seen in other parts of the state just this week, and across the entire country. As we continue to see a rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and incidents in America, our congregation is committed to continuing to live out our Jewish values of peace, faith, and justice in our community and beyond.”

Adam Ganucheau