Peter Beinart’s claims that the festival of Purim somehow demonstrates a Jewish embrace of zealotry and is an example of “the evil that Jews commit”, (11 March) is an insidious attempt to cast Jewish history and identity as heartless and vengeful.
Purim is not a celebration of retribution or slaughter, but of survival against attempted genocide. The Book of Esther repeatedly emphasises that even when the Jews of Persia were finally granted the right to take up arms against those across the empire of its day who sought their destruction, they took no spoils, precisely because they were motivated not by a desire for revenge or the thrill of conquest, but by self-defence.
Indeed, this is why Purim is observed to this day without reference to military prowess or vengeance, but with charity for the poor, gifts of food and special meals. Beinart’s astonishing attempt to present the origin of Purim as an expression of blood lust and religious zeal for the downfall of our enemies is utterly baseless and a misappropriation of the true meaning of Purim. In fact, there are many examples in Jewish tradition of precisely the opposite principle: that we may never revel in the suffering of others, even if we ourselves have previously suffered at their hands.
The atrocities of 7 October and the consequent war in Gaza have caused immense human suffering, including for many innocent Palestinian civilians. The Jewish communities that I engage with around the UK and across the world are acutely aware of that fact and we long for a day when Israelis and Palestinians can live alongside one another in peace. The suggestion that we are oblivious to such suffering is false and offensive. But the implication that Jews might actively turn away from it precisely because of our Judaism crosses the line from provocative opinion journalism into hateful invective.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis
London
