David Duke’s Selective Purim Denial
David Duke and Hillel both have Purim-themed messages pointing to this year’s celebration of the holiday as a time to worry about Iran. For Hillel, this means worrying that Ahmadinejad is another Haman. Your favorite former KKK Grand Wizard, on the other hand, insists that “extremist Jews” seek “a new Purim massacre” to be carried out against Iran.
Duke’s take on the holiday: “Purim is the Jewish celebration of the murder of the Persian prime minister Haman for supposedly plotting a conspiracy against the Jews.”
Supposedly.
That’s a first … Purim denial. Of course, Duke believes all the stuff in Megillat Esther about Jews killing their enemies. It’s just the bad parts about Haman that he seems not to accept.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
