The Jewish holiday of Purim was celebrated on March 2 and 3, or Adar 14 and 15 on the Hebrew calendar. Purim tells the story of Jews, led by Esther and Mordechai, triumphing over Haman, a Persian ruler who sought to eliminate the Jews.
Over the weekend of Feb. 28 and March 1, the United States and Israel, led by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, executed strikes against Iranian targets. By Sunday, March 1, it was confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who had long expressed genocidal ambitions against Israel and the Jews, had been killed.
Trump and Netanyahu both called on the Iranian people to rise up and execute a regime change.
In their responses to this long-awaited operation, Jewish leaders internationally, nationally and locally expressed consensus: It was the right move. Many also made the connection to Purim that had become louder than subtext.
International and National
“We are profoundly grateful to President Trump for the courageous, necessary joint U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran’s terror regime and its monstrous terrorist leadership; this was a historic strike for freedom and security and has already successfully removed Iran’s terrorist fanatic Ayatollah Khamenei from the equation,” Zionist Organization of America National President Morton “Mort” Klein said in statement.
“The joint U.S.-Israeli operation action was about protecting American lives, stopping nuclear annihilation, and standing with the millions of Iranians (including the families and families of those 32,000 martyrs killed by the regime in the last few weeks) who despise this tyranny,” added Klein, a Lower Merion resident.
“For more than forty years, Iran has armed, funded and directed terror proxies on Israel’s borders while openly calling for the destruction of both Israel and the United States,” said Stephen M. Flatow, the president of Religious Zionists of America-Mizrachi, in a statement. “When a regime repeatedly declares its intent to annihilate you and builds the capability to do so, moral clarity demands action.”
Flatow made the comparison to Purim later in his statement.
“In every generation there are those who rise with the intent to destroy us,” he said. “The names change. The ideology does not. Our tradition is not merely about remembering the past. It is about recognizing present danger.”
Rabbi Steven Burg, the CEO of Aish, an Orthodox educational organization, wrote in his statement that the stories are essentially the same.
“As the Jewish people mark the holiday of Purim, we recall an ancient chapter of history when a genocidal regime rising from Persia sought to annihilate the Jewish nation. The story endures because its message endures. Evil can be bold. Tyranny can be loud. Yet courage, conviction, and moral clarity can change the course of history,” he wrote.
“Today, that clarity is once again required,” he continued.
“The Iranian regime has spent decades spreading terrorism, threatening the State of Israel, destabilizing the Middle East, and endangering the free world. Its pursuit of catastrophic weapons and its open calls for destruction represent a deep moral challenge to every nation that values liberty and human dignity,” Burg concluded.
Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox organization, called out the Iranian regime and then called on Jews to rise up again.
“For more than forty years, the Iranian terror regime has called for ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America.’ Their nuclear ambitions threatened not only Israel, but all countries and U.S. assets in the region,” its statement read.
“The upcoming Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the downfall of those who rose up against the Jewish people in ancient Persia nearly 2,400 years ago. We are reminded how the key to the miraculous salvation was the heartfelt prayers of men, women and children. While prayer is always powerful, our sages have taught that it carries special power during the Purim holiday season. We call upon the Jewish community to unite in prayer and beseech the Almighty to protect all those on the front lines and in harm’s way in Israel and across the Middle East,” it concluded.
Local
Rabbi Yonah Gross leads Congregation Beth Hamedrosh in Wynnewood. An Orthodox rabbi, he made a similar allusion to Purim.
“We all have friends, family, that are there and living under an atomic weapon gun, so to speak, from Iran,” Gross said. “We have learned a lesson: When somebody says they want to destroy the Jewish people and Israel, we should believe them. That’s what they want to do. We should make sure they don’t have the ability to do that.”
Rabbi Benjamin David guides Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park. David also expressed support for the U.S.-Israel action. But he did ask some follow-up questions, too.
“On the one hand, we say, ‘Of course that Iran, with nuclear weapons, poses an existential threat to the state of Israel, and to peace-loving people everywhere,’” David said. “On the other hand, I would say, ‘What is the long-term vision? What is the plan? What happens on day two?’”
Even Shani Amram, an Ambler resident whose entire extended family lives in Israel, said that she supported the action. She also explained that her family members wouldn’t need to stay with her because they didn’t want to leave Israel. Israelis typically don’t in this type of situation, Amram explained.
“This is what’s special about Israelis. Especially when it’s hard, they want to stay,” she said.