Mississippi fire suspect called the temple a 'synagogue of Satan'

[Behind the Aegis]

Source: The Forward

A man who confessed to setting fire to a historic Mississippi temple on Saturday told law enforcement it was the “synagogue of Satan.”

Stephen Spencer Pittman was charged Monday with damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive. Security camera footage from Beth Israel Congregation — the only synagogue in Jackson, the state capital — showed a hooded figure pouring accelerant inside the building’s library before lighting a fire.

The fire ripped through Beth Israel shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday, destroying the library, two Torahs, and offices, leaving parts of the surrounding building blackened and charred. The main sanctuary and five Torah scrolls inside sustained smoke damage. The building also houses the offices of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

Pittman was arrested Saturday evening, reportedly with severe burns. He confessed to his father, who contacted the FBI, according to an affidavit obtained by the Forward.

Read more: https://forward.com/fast-forward/796503/stephen-spencer-pittman-mississippi-synagogue-fire/

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

1. "laughed as he told his father what he did and said he finally got them." His burned cell phone and a hand torch was d

Young guy, not too smart


“laughed as he told his father what he did and said he finally got them.”

His burned cell phone and a hand torch was discovered at the scene of the attack.

[ancianita]

2. From the Times of Israel...

(no paywall)

https://www.timesofisrael.com/mississippi-suspect-laughed-as-he-confessed-to-torching-synagogue-of-satan-fbi/

[Solly Mack]

3. ...

[JustAnotherGen]

4. It was only a matter of time

He's a monster. This is coded language: He's a product of poor home training.

[DBoon]

5. What church did he belong to?

Anyone want to make a guess as to what the sermons were like?

[JustAnotherGen]

6. To let the significance

Really set in . . .

Founded in 1860, it is the state’s largest synagogue, and has been faced with attacks before. In September 1967, Ku Klux Klan members bombed the synagogue damaging a similar section of the building that was destroyed on Saturday. Around two months later, KKK members bombed the home of Rabbi Perry Nussbaum. He was not targeted at random: Nussbaum was deeply involved in the civil rights movement, had visited jailed Freedom Riders, and helped post bail for activists at a time when doing so carried real risk. No one was killed in the attacks.


Nussbaum was a man of - integrity and terribly brave.