There was an enlightening (for this goy at least) programme on Radio Wales this morning about Purim which is being celebrated by Jews this week. The festival is inspired by the Book of Esther, the Jewish wife of the great ruler Ahasuerus (probably Xerxes) who foiled a plot to exterminate her people. When so many Jewish festivals commemorate events of oppression, Purim is a more joyous affair.
Reform Rabbi Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Professor Emeritus of Judaism at the University of Wales, spoke of parallels with modern Zionism and with Putin's invasion of Ukraine. While condemning the treatment of Palestinians and supporting the two-state solution, the rabbi insisted that Jews were always afraid because of their history and needed a state that they could call their own. He also compared the bravery of Esther with that of the Jewish president of Ukraine standing up for his people against an imperialist ruler.
That abiding fear is the justification for the modern state of Israel's antagonistic attitude to her neighbours and her non-Jewish occupants. It seems to me that she is now in such a demonstrable position of strength that she should start making more friends. It is also interesting that Putin claims that he has invaded Ukraine out of fear of NATO, when Russia is clearly the top dog - at least militarily - in the region.
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