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Arson at Jackson synagogue jolts Institute of Southern Jewish Life, but its mission persists

JL;DR SUMMARY The arson attack on Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, has disrupted both the synagogue and the adjacent Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) but has not deterred their mission. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish EducationJewish CommunityArsonJewish ResilienceRabbi SupportSouthern Jewish LifeBeth Israel CongregationSouthern United StatesIsjl

Places mentioned

Jackson, Mississippi, United States
"The arson in December at Beth Israel Congregation didnt just damage the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi."
Durham, North Carolina, United States
"Rabbi Salem Pearce, who is officially ISJLs director of spirituality but unofficially the traveling rabbi of the South. She roves from her home in Durham, North Carolina, across 70 congregations throughout a 13-state region that extends from Texas to Florida."
Texas, United States
"She roves from her home in Durham, North Carolina, across 70 congregations throughout a 13-state region that extends from Texas to Florida."
Florida, United States
"She roves from her home in Durham, North Carolina, across 70 congregations throughout a 13-state region that extends from Texas to Florida."
Boulder, Colorado, United States
"Rabbi Lex Rofeberg, an ISJL fellow from 2013 to 2015, was attending a gathering of clergy from the Jewish Renewal movement in Boulder, Colorado, when he first heard the news of the arson."
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States
"For Beth Israel Congregations first Shabbat service following the arson attack, the congregation used a Torah borrowed from Temple Bnai Israel, located about 90 miles southeast along Route 49. Were just down the road in Hattiesburg."
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
"Rabbi Raina Siroty of Temple Beth-El in Knoxville, Tennessee, wrote in a post on Facebook that the ISJL had connected and strengthened Jewish communities from Texas to the Florida Panhandle."
Roswell, Georgia, United States
"Rabbi Jason Holtz of Temple Kehillat Chaim in Roswell, Georgia, wrote in another post that he had attended the ISJLs conference within a few weeks of moving to Georgia."
Utica, Mississippi, United States
"The original building of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, which was the precursor to the ISJL, at the Henry S. Jacobs camp in Utica, Mississippi."
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States
"Rabbi Jeremy Simons, a former director of the rabbinic department at the ISJL and incoming rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, recalled his time in Jackson in a post on Facebook and appealed to his followers to donate to the synagogues recovery fund."
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
"While Roberts Koller, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, no longer works in Jewish communal life, she said her experiences at the ISJL had inspired her to continue pursuing Jewish involvement in her own community."

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Retrieved 2026-03-05 18:00:44 UTC
Curated 2026-03-05 19:00:43 UTC