Chief Rabbi condemns Guardian column on Purim as ‘hateful invective’
Ephraim Mirvis denounced the column by Peter Beinart as "an astonishing attempt to present the origin of Purim as an expression of blood lust and religious zeal"
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has denounced an opinion piece in The Guardian as an “insidious attempt to cast Jewish history and identity as heartless and vengeful”.
The column, titled “As Jews celebrate Purim, let us end the slaughter in Gaza committed in our name,” was written by American journalist and political commentator Peter Beinart, a well-known figure in liberal Jewish circles.
Published on 11 March, the article argues that Purim has a darker side that encourages “Jewish zealotry” and a refusal to confront the consequences of Jewish power.
Mirvis condemned the column as “an astonishing attempt to present the origin of Purim as an expression of blood lust and religious zeal for the downfall of our enemies,” calling Beinart’s portrayal “utterly baseless” and a “misappropriation of the true meaning of Purim”.
Beinart wrote that Purim is a day when “Jewish people will dress in silly costumes, eat triangular pastries, and listen to an ancient story about attempted genocide,” but suggested that “it’s also about the danger we pose to others.” He argued that the Jewish world must acknowledge what he called “the dark side of Purim.”
Mirvis acknowledged the suffering caused by the ongoing war in Gaza, stating that Jewish communities worldwide are “acutely aware of that fact and 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,” Mirvis said. “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.”
Beinart, a former editor of The New Republic and a contributor to major US publications, has been a vocal critic of Israeli policies and advocates for a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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