As Israeli and US attacks on Iran intensify and the conflict spreads across the Middle East, Israelis celebrated Purim this week by drawing parallels with the holiday's story, which tells of the attempt to wipe out the Jews of the Persian empire.
Thousands of Israelis ignored police and military restrictions on public gatherings to dress up in costumes and celebrate on the streets of Jerusalem on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Avner Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s youngest son, was seen celebrating in Jerusalem on Wednesday, escorted by his bodyguards.
On the same day, a Palestinian bus driver was violently attacked by several young Jewish men, who blocked his bus, threw stones at it and then beat him, in what was described as an “attempted lynching” by Koach LaOvdim, a socialist labour union.
A Koach LaOvdim representative told Israel Hayom: “Every year on Purim in Jerusalem there is an increase in acts of violence by teenagers against drivers, often racially motivated.
