Why Does Judaism's Favorite Holiday–Purim–Get Violent In Israel?

ed note–a case study of Judaic mental illness if ever there was one.

That any sane person would even ask such a question in a rhetorical sense, as if the answer were elusive or somehow difficult to answer, reveals that in fact, the person asking the question is not sane at all.

Purim–like all aspects of Judaism–is a celebration of Judaic violence against Gentiles, recounting the mass murder of 75,000 Persians as described in the book of Esther. During the Purim celebration, Jews eat pastries made out to resemble the body parts–ears, eyes, internal organs, etc–of the Persian enemies whose death/destruction is being celebrated.

And people wonder why this ‘celebration’ of Judaic violence does in fact turn violent every year?

Just like the incessant questioning of the roots of ‘anti-Shemitism’ and the ridiculous lengths to which Jews/Jewish organizations will go in trying to conjure up alternative explanations as to the origins of the ‘persecution’ they have endured throughout history other than the most inescapably obvious–aberrant, obnoxious, and oftentimes criminal Judaic behavior–likewise, that there would even be an article with a title such as this appearing on the front page of what is considered to be the most respected Jewish publication in America underscores why it is pointless waiting for Jews to ‘come to the light’ and thus understand for themselves how they and their backwards and oftentimes barbaric behavior have been the source of their own misery now for 4,000 years and counting. They will never figure it out, as long as the root cause of their madness–their Judaism–retains its unwarranted and undeserved place of respect alongside other philosophies/religions that are geared towards human progress and the betterment of the individual.

Naomi Zeveloff, The Forward

Purim is the Israeli Halloween. Pop up costume shops appear in the weeks ahead, children dress up for school and hamantaschen are as ubiquitous as mini Snickers bars.

But there’s a darker side to the holiday too. The Purim story is a tale of revenge. After Esther and Mordechai foil Haman’s plot to kill the Jews, they exact a painful revenge on their Persian enemies.

On Purim, some extremist Jews take the story literally, linking the ancient Amalekites, the anti-Semitic tribe to which Haman belonged, to modern-day Palestinians.

Over the years, there have been reports violent attacks against Arabs on Purim perpetrated by Jews, and attacks on Jews by Palestinians. The most notorious event was in 1994 when Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

For this year’s Purim, some Israeli kids are dressing as Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier who killed a prone Palestinian suspect. Many Israelis view him as a hero, wrongfully punished for protecting the nation.

But Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sang a Purim song at an event this week to honor Jehan Jaber, an Arab Hebrew teacher in Taibe.