Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Police arrested and charged a suspect in the arson fire of a synagogue in Jackson, Miss., Beth Israel Congregation, which torched the facility's library, spread smoke damage throughout the building and destroyed two Torahs.
The fire was reported around 3:00 a.m. Saturday -- overnight Shabbat, the weekly Jewish day of rest -- and the temple has suspended services indefinitely due to the damage, according to Mississippi Today.
The library and administrative offices were damaged in the fire, in addition to the two destroyed Torahs and five others that were damaged when the blaze erupted. A Torah that survived the Holocaust and is stored in a glass case was undamaged, according to reports.
"Acts of antisemitism, racism and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents' safety and feedom to worship," Jackson Mayor John Horn said in a statement on Sunday, WAPT-16 reported.
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