- Violence
- Segregation
- October 12, 1958
- City of Atlanta
The Temple bombing (1958)
Before dawn on October 12, 1958 fifty sticks of dynamite blew open the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation's temple. Its rabbi, Jacob Rothschild, was an outspoken supporter of integration.
The record
The blast destroyed walls and offices and shattered stained glass, causing $100,000–200,000 in damage, but no one was hurt. A group calling itself the 'Confederate Underground' claimed responsibility. Five men linked to the National States Rights Party were arrested. George Bright's first trial ended in a 9–3 mistrial and his second, in January 1959, in acquittal; charges against the others were dropped. Mayor William B. Hartsfield went to the scene and condemned the bombers, and the political demagogues he said shared responsibility.
Today: The Temple, still an active congregation on Peachtree St in Midtown.