The Temple Bombing

Describes the bombing of the Temple, Atlanta's oldest synagogue, in October 1958, against the background of anti-Black and anti-Jewish violence prevalent in the South at the time. States that "whites aimed at blacks through the Jews, " and that 10% of the bombs in the South in 1954-59 exploded at synagogues, rabbis' homes, and Jewish community centers. The target of the Atlanta bombing was the Temple's rabbi, Jacob M. Rothschild, a vigorous advocate of racial integration. Describes Rothschild's activities, as well as those of George Michael Bright, a member of the neo-Nazi Columbians and the racist National States' Rights Party, one of five men indicted in the Temple bombing. Describes the trials of the accused, none of whom were convicted; Bright's trial ended in a deadlock and declaration of a mistrial, while the other four were acquitted.