Can Ramadan save Gaza? Can Purim save Israel?
Can Ramadan save Gaza? Might as well also ask, Can Purim save Israel? Both Islam and Judaism have the Golden Rule and plenty of scripture that calls upon its followers to help create a more compassionate, just, and equitable world. Alas, history teaches us that people of faith are just as capable of being cruel, bitter, hateful, and plain mean as atheists. The simplistic message in the Purim story is that anti-Semitism is evil, but it can also offer a more complex lesson about the evils of hatred and intolerance of all kinds. As an American follower of Judaism, who grew up in Saudi Arabia, I know that a great many Arabs subscribe to anti-Semitic tropes, just as a great many American Christians and Jews subscribe to biases against Arabs and Muslims. It is no surprise that many Arab Muslims, not all Arabs are Muslim mind you, and many Jewish people have sought a better life in the United States, with its Constitutional protections for freedom and equality. If Congress ever gets ar