Jewish New Yorkers hold Purim event outside Iranian consulate

Jewish New Yorkers hold a Purim event outside the Iranian consulate in midtown Manhattan, connecting the holiday to the Iran war.

The Purim story is about Jews in the ancient Persian empire overcoming the villain Haman.

The event is organized by Hineni, a grassroots Jewish group based in the city.

Around 30 participants gather in the cold winter rain, holding Israeli and Iranian flags and signs that say, “Free Iran.”

Shai Davidai, a co-founder of Hineni and a prominent Jewish activist in the city, says the Purim story begins with the character Mordechai not deferring to Haman, which ends up setting an example for other Jews.

“All of a sudden, they see someone who refuses to bow to Haman and that’s the most important thing,” Davidai says, connecting the story to combating antisemitism.

“Even when we are afraid, we refuse to bow down to that fear, and if we are able to do that, we can do a lot of things,” he says.

A rabbi then leads the crowd in a reading of the Megillah, which tells the Purim story.