NEW YORK, April 18, 2019 — American Jewish Committee (AJC) has donated funds to help rebuild three historically black churches in Louisiana destroyed in a series of arson attacks.
“Insidious attacks on houses of worship tear at the fabric of communities,” said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations. “On the eve of the Easter holiday, we empathize with the African American parishioners, with their painful loss and with their willful strength to overcome this malicious tragedy.”
The torched churches — Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas, and St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre – are located in the Landry Parish.
Local authorities have arrested Holden Matthews and charged him with setting the fires and with hate crimes allegedly having a racial motive.