when I was like 14 I used to reblog these posts on here that were like “YOUR 20S ARE NOT AN IMAGINARY RACE YOURE DOING JUST FINE!!” just to be positive towards my older mutuals even though i didn’t really get what they were abour and I’d be in the tags like “#so true!! #everyone does things at their own pace!!” and now im 24 I’m thinking back to it and it’s like Oh of course the imaginary race. Which I’m losing
Looking at what national news outlets are up to right now, one might not realize a whole major US metropolitan area is, you know, sort of under attack by paramilitary forces. Wild.
im sorry the What is being What now???
While it’s not going unreported entirely, what’s been happening in Minnesota and in Minneapolis–Saint Paul in particular since Renee Good was murdered is not getting the attention it should be.
There are already 2000 gangsters from DHS deployed, and “hundreds” or “1000” more are on the way, depending on which Trumpland person you ask. As a point of reference, the Twin Cities’ actual police total just under 1200 (600 in Minneapolis and 590 in Saint Paul according to the depts’ sites).
The feds there are more or less attacking people at random. They’ve gone door-to-door for “citizenship checks” (completely illegal). They’ve knocked doors down when residents haven’t complied (obviously also completely illegal). In addition to abducting and brutalizing the immigrants they come across during their rampages, they’ve done the same to US citizens of color and are also harassing, stalking and physically attacking observers.
Below are some videos from observers. I’m linking to Bluesky because that’s where I saw them, though many are originally from/also available elsewhere. I apologize for the rancid formatting below but it was the best I could do quickly-ish. The images are previews; click the links in the timestamps to watch.
Dumb Meg (@dmbmeg.bsky.social) Jan 11, 2026 at 6:10 PM(You need to be logged in to see this—while it’s unclear what happened to the victim in this one, there’s no reported death so far; CW for heightened violence)
Dom Ervolina (@dominicervolina.com) Jan 11, 2026 at 8:42 PM(You need to be logged in to see this)
my synagogue was set on fire last night during Shabbat at 3:00 AM in an arsonist attack.
no one was injured, which i am extremely grateful for. they have several security cameras, so there is a suspect in custody. the details and motivation haven’t been shared, but it can be reasonably assumed to be a hate crime.
this was the first synagogue established in the state, the only one that’s not hours away, and certainly the largest in the area. two Torah scrolls are destroyed beyond repair, 5 are damaged. the library where children have religious school and morning Shabbat service is held has been completely burnt down, much of that section of the building that’s left is covered in soot and ash. the administrative offices were also lost.
our Tree of Life, which was for important life events like bar/bat/b'nei mitzvahs, was destroyed. i was just looking at it this past Tuesday while waiting for a meeting with my rabbi. it was dozens of bronze plaques in the shape of leaves with commemorations on them placed above a trunk. there is a photo of the wreckage that makes me cry every time i look at it.
we have a rescued scroll from Nazi-era Czechoslovakia (it is thankfully unharmed). we have a Holocaust memorial garden. we have names of dead loved ones displayed. memories in and on the walls. there are so many deeply meaningful and largely irreplaceable things here.
my rabbi was out of state for the last several days. i cannot imagine how he’s feeling.
im fucking pissed at the police department. they said that they would patrol the grounds more often in light of the worldwide rise in antisemitism. I have not personally seen them once. they let the only area for our community to gather be set on fire.
i am exhausted. i am angry. i am thankful it is not any worse, because it easily could have been, but tonight i am grieving that little library full of vintage Jewish books.
The same Synogogue was also bombed in 1967. This is the best article I could find so far this soon after the fire.
yes, this is my synagogue. Beth Israel Congregation was firebombed by the KKK in 1967 along with the rabbi’s house because he was an outspoken supporter of civil rights for Black Americans.
here are some photos of the aftermath of the most recent fire:
I have been asked about fundraising, so I will be providing a link to donations.
hey!! yes, JPD is useless. the FBI, ATF, Joint Terrorism Task Force, along with I believe possibly a division of Homeland Security (?) are all involved in the case. as I understand it, the FBI automatically gets involved when reports of a place of worship being intentionally damaged are made.
a primary suspect has already been identified and arrested. details are not being officially made public at the moment, although I’ve seen unsourced information on a couple articles (namely Mississippi Today) claiming that it is a 19 y/o white supremacist man.
UPDATE: i can now confidently confirm the identity of the perpetrator as Stephen Spencer Pittman, a 19 year old Nazi as I mentioned. He was texting the whole thing to his dad over text while he was committing the crime (who reported it to the FBI), and then went to the hospital for his burns (because he accidentally doused his legs in gasoline like a fucking idiot) where he was promptly arrested.
They also mention that a citywide prayer service for Beth Israel will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at Thalia Mara Hall in downtown Jackson if anyone wants to attend.
For everyone asking in messages, share these links wherever you want. Sharing to more people gets more support and more donations towards the long process of rebuilding.
Also, please don’t make this about any other politics than antisemitism. We’re very tired and don’t want to argue about what the motivation was. It was antisemitism and that’s all, the guy said so himself.
We already have a loose plan for service locations, but we’re waiting on other details. We don’t have any official estimate on how long restoration will take, only a decently informed guess. It will be a long time before we return to our synagogue.
Thanks for all the love and kindness. It means a lot.
