This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.
Festivalgoers are seen during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Dwayne Dopsie of Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Festivalgoers are seen during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Leo Nocentelli performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Leo Nocentelli performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Festival-goers attend the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Lila Downs performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Kacey Musgraves performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Chris Spies of The Honey Island Swamp Band performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A.J. Haynes, lead singer for The Seratones, performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Iguanas perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A person in the crow holds up a sign for Senegal as Senegalese artist Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Morris Day of Morris Day and the Time performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1st, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Shamarr Allen performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Irma Thomas performs with the band Galactic at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Dwayne Dopsie of Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Sam Price of The Honey Island Swamp Band performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Aaron Wilkinson of The Honey Island Swamp Band performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
El Dusty & The Homies performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Festivalgoers are seen during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Johnny Sansone of the Johnny Sansone Band performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Robin Zander of Cheap Trick performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
PJ Morton performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Festival-goers pose for a photo during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Kacey Musgraves performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Kacey Musgraves performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Robin Zander of Cheap Trick performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Lila Downs performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
The Honey Island Swamp Band performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Aaron Wilkinson of The Honey Island Swamp Band performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Honey Island Swamp Band performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The crowd reacts as Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Iguanas perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A.J. Haynes, lead singer for The Seratones, performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Sister Boram Lee, a Catholic nun with the Salesian Sisters, stands on a pedestal while photographing the Academy Of Our Lady High School gospel choir at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Gladys Knight performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Gladys Knight performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Ron Hodges of The Iguanas performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A.J. Haynes, lead singer for The Seratones, performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
David Shaw performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1st, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Vasti Jackson performs with Damon Batiste and NOSACONN All Stars during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1st, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Carlos Santana performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph performs with her band Galactic at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The band is reflected in a trombone as the Roots of Music Marching Crusaders parade through the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Drummer Patrick Hallahan performs with his band My Morning Jacket at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Fans react as My Morning Jacket performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jim James performs with his band My Morning Jacket at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Trombone Shorty, left, and Cyril Neville perform during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Lenny Kravitz performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 4th, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Patti LaBelle performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
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Festivalgoers are seen during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Dwayne Dopsie of Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Festivalgoers are seen during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Leo Nocentelli performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Leo Nocentelli performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Festival-goers attend the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Lila Downs performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Kacey Musgraves performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Chris Spies of The Honey Island Swamp Band performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A.J. Haynes, lead singer for The Seratones, performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Iguanas perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A person in the crow holds up a sign for Senegal as Senegalese artist Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Morris Day of Morris Day and the Time performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1st, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Shamarr Allen performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Irma Thomas performs with the band Galactic at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Dwayne Dopsie of Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Sam Price of The Honey Island Swamp Band performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Aaron Wilkinson of The Honey Island Swamp Band performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
El Dusty & The Homies performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Festivalgoers are seen during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Johnny Sansone of the Johnny Sansone Band performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Robin Zander of Cheap Trick performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
PJ Morton performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Festival-goers pose for a photo during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Kacey Musgraves performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Kacey Musgraves performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Robin Zander of Cheap Trick performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Lila Downs performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
The Honey Island Swamp Band performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Aaron Wilkinson of The Honey Island Swamp Band performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Honey Island Swamp Band performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The crowd reacts as Youssou N'Dour performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Iguanas perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A.J. Haynes, lead singer for The Seratones, performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Sister Boram Lee, a Catholic nun with the Salesian Sisters, stands on a pedestal while photographing the Academy Of Our Lady High School gospel choir at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Gladys Knight performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Gladys Knight performs during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Ron Hodges of The Iguanas performs with the band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A.J. Haynes, lead singer for The Seratones, performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
David Shaw performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1st, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Vasti Jackson performs with Damon Batiste and NOSACONN All Stars during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1st, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Carlos Santana performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph performs with her band Galactic at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The band is reflected in a trombone as the Roots of Music Marching Crusaders parade through the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Drummer Patrick Hallahan performs with his band My Morning Jacket at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Fans react as My Morning Jacket performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jim James performs with his band My Morning Jacket at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Trombone Shorty, left, and Cyril Neville perform during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Lenny Kravitz performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 4th, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Patti LaBelle performs during the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — With just a few hundred people in the community, it was never particularly easy being Jewish in Mississippi's capital city, but members of Beth Israel Congregation took a special pride in keeping their traditions alive in the heart of the Deep South.
An arson fire over the weekend that badly damaged the historic synagogue's library and administrative offices made it much harder and harkened back to an era more than a half-century earlier when the Ku Klux Klan bombed the Jackson, Mississippi, synagogue because of its rabbi's support for civil rights.
Authorities early Monday hadn't publicly named a suspect, who was in custody, but the FBI promised to release more information later in the day. Yellow police tape on Monday blocked off the entrances to the synagogue building, which was surrounded by broken glass and soot. Bouquets of flowers were laid on the ground at the building's entrance — including one with a note that said, “I'm so very sorry.”
The congregation's president, Zach Shemper, vowed to rebuild the synagogue and said several churches had offered their spaces for worship during the rebuilding process.
“As Jackson’s only synagogue, Beth Israel is a beloved institution, and it is the fellowship of our neighbors and extended community that will see us through,” Shemper said.
With the exception of the cemetery, every aspect of Jewish life in Jackson was under Beth Israel's roof. The midcentury modern building not only housed the congregation but also the Jewish Federation, a nonprofit provider of social services and philanthropy that is the hub of Jewish institutional life in most U.S. cities. The building also was home to the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which provides resources to Jewish communities in 13 southern states. A Holocaust memorial was outdoors behind the synagogue building.
Because Jewish children throughout the South have attended summer camp for decades in Utica, Mississippi, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Jackson, many retain a fond connection to the state and its Jewish community.
“Jackson is the capital city, and that synagogue is the capital synagogue in Mississippi,” said Rabbi Gary Zola, a historian of American Jewry who taught at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. “I would call it the flagship, though when we talk about places like New York and Los Angeles, it probably seems like Hicksville.”
The congregation was so committed to maintaining Jewish life in Jackson that, when its fulltime rabbi departed recently, congregants decided to pay for the multiyear rabbinic schooling of its cantorial soloist, Benjamin Russell, so that Beth Israel could maintain a fulltime, seminary-trained religious leader.
Because of the tiny size of Jackson's Jewish community, many congregants had interfaith marriages but still regularly attended Friday night services with their spouses in a commitment to their faith.
Beth Israel as a congregation was founded in 1860 and acquired its first property where it built Mississippi's first synagogue after the Civil War. In 1967, the synagogue moved to its current location where it was bombed by local Ku Klux Klan members not long after relocating. Two months after that, the home of the synagogue's leader, Rabbi Perry Nussbaum, was bombed because of his outspoken opposition to segregation and racism.
At a time when opposition to racial segregation could be dangerous in the Deep South, many Beth Israel congregants hoped the rabbi would just stay quiet, but Nussbaum was unshakable in believing he was doing the right thing by supporting civil rights, Zola said.
“He had this strong, strong sense of justice,” Zola said. “He was incapable of going along to get along.”
This weekend's fire ripped through the Beth Israel Congregation shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday, authorities said. No congregants or firefighters were injured in the blaze. Firefighters arrived to find flames billowing out of windows and all doors to the synagogue locked, according to the fire department.
One Torah that survived the Holocaust was behind glass and was not damaged in the fire, according to the congregation. Five Torahs — the sacred scrolls with the text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible — located inside the sanctuary were being assessed for smoke damage. Two Torahs inside the library, where the most severe damage was done, were destroyed, according to a synagogue representative.
Schneider reported from Orlando, Fla. Follow him on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social
FILE - This Nov. 2, 2018 photo shows an armed Hinds County Sheriff's deputy outside of the Beth Israel Congregation synagogue in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, file)