Arson In a Fire That Badly Damaged Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., Early Saturday Morning
Another poem about a fire
that burns a synagogue
that burned before
in Mississippi,
then the KKK,
who today?
And the article says “no one was hurt”
And the article says “two Torahs burned”
Then it was 1967, which the article calls
“The Civil Rights Era”
Now is 2026, which we will call
what? exactly?
Then the synagogue
burned along with the home
of the rabbi, who the article wants
me to know “spoke out against
racism and segregation” not
that he was a rabbi and
the Synagogue was a Synagogue.
The article assures me “No one
was hurt in the civil rights-era
bombings or Saturday’s fire.”
No one was hurt
No one was hurt
The article says the fire destroyed two
Torahs and damaged five others.
The article notes that a Torah that survived
the Holocaust was protected by a glass
display case and was not damaged.
The article mentions “The synagogue’s Tree
of Life plaque honoring congregants’
meaningful occasions was destroyed.”
Surveillance video shows a man wearing a hoodie
and a mask pouring liquid from a can inside the synagogue.
The article assures me “Beth Israel is planning
to immediately move forward.”
Avi Killip is a poet and rabbi who serves as the Executive Vice President at Hadar. Avi is host of the Responsa Radio podcast.
