My Word: Celebrating Purim is an expression of faith in our survival - opinion

• Published date: 22 March 2024
• Author: LIAT COLLINS
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Purim marks the survival of the Jewish people as recorded in the Scroll of Esther. Haman, the adviser of Persian king Ahasuerus, plotted to kill every single Jew in the empire. Esther, with the help of her uncle Mordecai, came to the rescue. That was in the fourth century BCE. In current times, the Islamic Republic of Iran (what was once Persia) funds global terrorism – including Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis – and is on the threshold of a nuclear breakout. Today, instead of being hanged on his own gallows, Haman would probably be invited to address the UN

Every Jewish holiday this year falls under the shadow of the events of October 7. As Jews celebrated the Sabbath and the joyous Simchat Hatorah festival, thousands of members of the Hamas terrorist organization invaded southern Israel from Gaza under the cover of a massive rocket barrage. The atrocity they perpetrated was staggering. Some 1,300 were murdered, many of them raped, mutilated, and burned to death, whole families wiped out; thousands were wounded; some 240 abducted, of whom at least 134 remain in captivity, dead or alive. The youngest is one-year-old Kfir Bibas, the oldest is Shlomo Mansour. To mark Mansour's 86th birthday this week, the family of this grandfather of 12 asked people to eat an ice cream, his favorite food, and post a photo on social media captioned: Bring.Shlomo.Home.

The world is not comfortable with what happened on October 7. That's why it wants to move on and stop the fighting in Gaza – even if that means allowing the continued existence of the Hamas terrorist organization. The global village doesn't like Israel fighting back. Israelis are perceived as perpetrators, not victims. End of story, beginning of narrative.

The October 7 Hamas invasion and massacre are tied to events encircling the globe from the Palestinian street – and more significantly, the curriculum of incitement in its schools – to universities in Europe, North America, Australia, and South Africa. The violent mass rallies against Israel's existence – "From the river to the sea" – are aimed not only at Israelis and Jews and their supporters. They are a successful intimidation tactic. In the Western world dominated by intersectionality, it is a brave person who continues to speak out despite the risk of being "canceled."

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