Mississippi Burning (learning)
“You could be in the procession and actually hold the Torah briefly, almost like the Olympic torch. And ordinary people, who weren’t part of the Jewish community, would hold it and pass it on."
By Michael Golden
When I first saw the news of the burning of the Beth Israel synagogue in Jackson Mississippi, I felt the usual combination of pit-in-my-stomach sickness and visceral fury: Another twisted idiot taking his own personal misery out on the most obvious historical target.
But then, realizing it was just that, I went down the rabbit hole on Mississippi Jewry. And unsurprisingly, it’s a proud history — which also includes some hearty interfaith strength. As we know all too well, stereotypes are often just stereotypes.
I decided to call Charles Lipson, a Jewish native of Ole Miss who for years has been a Professor of International Politics at the University of Chicago. Charles and I used to appear on political programs together as dueling partisans. It was wonderful to speak again.
Marks, Mississippi is a very small town located in the delta. Charles’s family was one of just a few Jewish families there when he grew up in the 1950s. In fact, they had to travel 30 miles to attend Temple Beth Israel in Clarksdale. But their history ran deep: Charles’s father and grandfather had both served as presidents of the congregation.
But even back then, Charles says that the neighbors who knew the Lipson family had zero issues with them being Jewish:
“We were completely a part of the town. At my father’s funeral, I said, ‘you have to understand, my father was 100% Jewish, and he was 100% from this town of Marks.’ We had lived for there for three generations. We were as old a family as anybody else in the town.”
Charles’s comment touched on the theme I wrote about in last week’s “Ask a Jew”: When people get to know Jews — not unlike the way the rest of humanity operates — that’s when connections get formed. Differences often fade away.
But Charles told me a story that hit on something far more optimistic. In the early 1900’s, when the first Torahs arrived to be set in the new synagogue in Clarksdale, a procession started from the train station where it was received. Charles recounts the rest:
“You could be in the procession and actually hold the Torah briefly, almost like the Olympic torch. And ordinary people who weren’t part of the Jewish community held the Torah, and then would pass it to the next person as it made its way from the train station to the synagogue.”
I would be remiss if I did not mention that Temple Beth Israel in Jackson was set afire once before. The Ku Klux Klan bombed the synagogue in 1967, a building that was also home to the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which supports Jewish communities in 13 southern states.
A few months later, the KKK bombed the rabbi’s home. While stereotypes are full of holes, history is history. And the KKK hated the fact that Jews in the 60s were protesting with Blacks for civil rights and helping them to register to vote. Rabbi Nussbaum himself had helped to raise money for the Black churches being scorched by KKK arsonists.
Being a writer and scholar of international politics who goes deep into the ugly upheavals that are happening every day, Charles explained to me that he doesn’t get quite as emotional as others do when these things hit the TV screen (like me!). We had a good laugh about that. But he still feels the pride of his Mississippi roots, and knows that good people of the South will still have Temple Israel’s back:
“I would say, I would predict with almost certainty that the community in Jackson will gather around the Jewish community. They will make the churches available to them.”
This is already happening: A collective hug, including real offers of assistance from churches in the form of space and also fundraising to help rebuild the synagogue (which will take at least a year). Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire, though several Torah scrolls were destroyed. Michele Schipper, former president of the congregation, summed it up:
“I’m devastated. We’re all devastated. But we are ready to rebuild, and with the support and outreach from our community, we will continue to be a vibrant Jewish community in Jackson, Mississippi.”
It’s a community that started nearly 300 years ago, with brotherhood and support from a whole lot of Mississippians who were not Jewish. Charles Lipson lived it. No one can say that it’s ever been easy, but Charles got to see the good in others that helped his people to sustain.
It is true that acts of antisemitism have risen dramatically over the last several years. And in the aftermath of this twisted fuck’s assault on Temple Beth Israel, you’ll see article after article headlining this tragic trend.
But one deranged arsonist does not represent an entire community, or in most cases, even the attacker’s own family — the father turned the son in hours after the fire.
There are a ton of Americans — human beings — who do stand with Jews. I am grateful for them, and I will never stop looking for more of them.
MICHAEL GOLDEN is the Founder & Editor-In-Chief of JEWDICIOUS and The Golden Mean.
From navigating the nuances of family and relationships to unpacking history and politics to finding the human angle on sports and entertainment — plus our unsparing take on what’s happening in the Jewish world — the canvas at JEWDICIOUS is limitless!
Great article!