Antisemitism strikes Atlanta in October 1958 Jewish temple bombing
No one ever convicted in Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple explosion | Latest in We The People.
Editor’s note: This article is part of We the People, a series marking the upcoming 250th birthday of the United States of America by Gray Media, parent company of WANF Atlanta News First.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The ugly face of antisemitism struck Atlanta in a violent way on Oct. 12, 1958, when the city’s oldest and most prominent synagogue was bombed.
In the early morning hours, 50 sticks of dynamite exploded in a recessed entranceway at the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple on Peachtree Street.
The explosion caused extensive damage to the building, estimated between $100,000 and $200,000, or about $1 million today.
No one was injured or killed.
The bombing is presumed to be an act of anti-Semitism and connected to white supremacist groups. The Temple’s senior rabbi, Jacob Rothschild, was a highly visible and outspoken advocate for civil rights and integration, and a friend of Martin Luther King Jr. Rothschild had used his pulpit to critique segregation following the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
After the Atlanta bombing, a person identifying himself as “General Gordon of the Confederate Underground” called United Press International to claim responsibility, stating, “We have just blown up the temple. This is the last empty building I’ll blow up in Atlanta.” He also declared, “Negroes and Jews are hereby declared aliens.”
The incident deeply shook Atlanta, a city that prided itself on being “the city too busy to hate.” It prompted a re-evaluation of the city’s reputation and sparked widespread support for Rothschild and the Jewish community from both Jewish and non-Jewish Atlantans.
Mayor William B. Hartsfield condemned the act, and donations poured in to help with repairs.
Five suspects were arrested shortly after the bombing, and one, George Bright, was tried twice. His first trial resulted in a hung jury, and his second in an acquittal.
The other suspects were not tried, and no one was ever convicted of the bombing. The FBI was involved in the investigation, by direct order of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Today, the Confederate Underground is believed to have been a loose network of individuals instead of a structured organization. The group was also suspected of targeting other synagogues, including the Temple Beth-El and Temple Emanuel in Carolina, though in those cases the bombs failed to detonate fully.
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