(JEWISH GROUP) As Iran's Jews prepare for Purim, their government calls its story proof of a past genocide
At the center of Hamadan, Iran, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, stands the holiest site for Jews in Iran: a small brick mausoleum traditionally believed to hold the tombs of Esther and Mordechai.
For at least the past 15 years, the tomb has become a flashpoint for protest reacting to Iranian regime–propagated narratives that frame the Book of Esther not as a tale of Jewish survival, but as a genocide of 75,000 Iranians perpetrated by the Jews. Each year on Purim, protesters gather outside the mausoleum. At times, they have thrown Molotov cocktails at the building or burned Israeli flags.
Iranian Jewish leaders have responded with carefully worded appeals to the Interior Ministry, emphasizing their loyalty to the state and asking that protests not be held at the sacred site. And even as the possibility of a U.S.-led attack looms, Iranian Jews are preparing to celebrate Purim with discreet customs reflective of the culture at large — though with dispensation to consume alcohol at home.
Jews in Iran celebrate Purim “with a very low profile” because of “all this antisemitic propaganda,” says Thamar E. Gindin, author of The Book of Esther Unmasked and a research fellow at Haifa University’s Ezri Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Research.
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