Opinion

Dry Bones M O AN°All

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HAMS IS NO MORE
PEOICATE0 TO THE

DESTRUCTION OF
ISRAEL MAN THE
PLO WAS!

No More Purims

N

ow is the time to stop
Iran! That was the
major theme of the
American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC) Policy
Conference held in Washington,
D.C., this week. And for good
reason.
The Iranian president has
pledged to wipe out Israel while
he distorts and demonizes
Zionism, denies the Holocaust
and directs Hezbollah as a proxy
army. Moreover, he pledges new
support for Hamas, which shares
his genocidal ambitions — and
all the while defying the United
Nations' atomic inspectors and
regulations, claiming Iran needs
nuclear power to meet its energy
needs even while it is swimming
in oil.
The similarities between the
Persia of Purim and modern-day
Iran clearly go well beyond loca-
tion. The ancient Haman sought
to exploit the power of his day by
buying off the king with riches
and appeals to vanity, while the
modern-day Haman seeks to

exploit the power of the day —
nuclear weapons — by buying
off the world community with oil
and lies. But a crucial difference,
worthy of great celebration in its
own right, is that the Jews of
Israel do not live under the
thumb of a king they need to
please and curry favor with. The
Jews live freely in their own land,
have their own army and direct
their own affairs.
Such is the beauty and neces-
sity of Zionism, and the modern
State of Israel.
The situation of the Jews of
ancient Persia had been repeated
for centuries. Since Haman, there
have been Purim Katans (little
Purims) that have been celebrat-
ed for short periods of time, or
even until today, to mark the
deliverance of Jews from an evil
decree and an oppressor. In some
instances, special megillahs were
written for the occasion.
There are hundreds of such
Purim Katans, most of which are
barely known or forgotten since
the communities that celebrated

them no longer exist. But some
are well known.
• Purim Winz was begun in
1615 by German Jews in
Frankfurt-am-Main after an
anti-Semite who organized
attacks on Jews was killed by the
king for his actions.
• Hitler Purim was proclaimed
by the Jewish community
Casablanca in 1942 after the
Nazis were halted before taking
over their city.
• The Jews of Tiberias cele-
brate a Purim Katan dating from
1743 when a war that threatened
to destroy them was averted.
• Purim Mizrayim was marked
by the Jews of Cairo in 1524
when they were saved from
extermination.
•A Purim Katan in
Carpentras, France, celebrates
the sparing of the community
after a blood libel in 1651.
All of these celebrations are
the result of dire circumstances
where Jews prevailed only
because others defended them or
allowed them to defend them-

OF COURSE Tie
SAD NEWS IS
THAT.

www.dryBonesBlog.blogspot_com

selves. It took more than a
reliance on God and a reliance
on ourselves to make it through
these difficult times. And, of
course, there are no Purims for
those many times when some of
us were not able to survive our
oppressors.
While it is said that each gen-
eration has its Haman, and we've
seen that often there is more

than one, the State of Israel
changes the Jewish condition in
such a fundamental way that it is
in Jewish hands to ensure we will
have no more Purims. A strong,
proud, and hopefully wise Israel,
with our support, makes all the
difference. ❑

Bowl. Judging from
the hysterical cover-
age of this year's
game, the heads of
several local media
figures might actu-
ally explode over
such an event.
• The Detroit
Pistons did not
exist. Well, actually
they did, but insist-
ed on playing their games in Fort
Wayne, Ind.
• A trip to the beach at Cass
Lake was a day in the country.
You packed a lunch, although
you had to wait an hour after
eating to go into the water.
• Bat mitzvahs were almost
unheard of.
• If you wore jeans to school
you were sent home. If you wore
shorts to school your parents
were called in for a conference.
Male teachers wore coats and

ties. Women teachers wore dress-
es. None of this seemed to inter-
fere with learning.
• If you couldn't afford a tele-
phone line of your own, you got a
party line which was shared with
another household. Caller ID
consisted of your dad shouting
that someone was on the line for
you and to make it quick.
I'm not saying any of this was
better. In many cases, it clearly
was not. Just different, that's all.
Very different.
But I'm sure my granddaugh-
ter will look back on the days of
cell phones and gas-powered
cars and newspapers you hold in
your hands and fast-food ham-
burgers with the same sense of
amused wonder. At least, I hope
so. ❑

Reality Check

Past Imperfect

A

few things that younger
relatives of mine find
hard to believe about
my childhood:
• School swimming classes for
boys were conducted in the
nude. I have no idea why.
Sadism, most likely.
One unfortunate soul was
given the job of standing at the
pool entrance and checking anal
cavities for cleanliness. I used to
think this had to be the worst job
in the world. Then I went to work
on a newspaper and saw certain
similarities.
• No one ever looked up movie
times. Neighborhood shows
always had double features and
you just arrived when it was con-
venient. If you came in during
the middle of one of the movies,
you'd try to piece together the
plot by working backwards and
then leave where you came in.

This was good mental exercise.
• Of course, if you wanted to
see a new movie, which was
called a "first-run" film, you had
to schlep downtown and pay
higher prices. •
My parents allowed me to go
downtown on the bus alone to
see such movies when I was 12
years old. I would have a tuna
sandwich and a sundae in the
drugstore in the Kales Building
and then take my pick of shows.
My kids always greeted this story
with disbelief.
• There were a total of three
channels on TV. When Channel 9
from Windsor joined the party it
was a stunning addition to the
video banquet.
• People actually cared who
Miss America was.
• Milkmen came to your home
and delivered things like cottage
cheese and sour cream, as well as
milk, in a chute. Doctors came to

your home, too,
although I may have
only dreamed that part.
•An operatic tenor, .
Mario Lanza, had the
No. 1 hit single in
America with "Be My
Love." The following
year, the top song,
"Stranger in Paradise,"
was drawn from
Alexander Borodin's
classical composition, "Prince
Igor"
• The Lions played for the NFL
championship. I'm not making
this up. Not only that, they won it
three times. On two occasions,
however, the game was played at
Briggs Stadium and blacked out
on local television. Even though
it was a sellout and the champi-
onship game, Detroiters couldn't
watch.
But maybe it's a good thing the
Lions never go to the Super

George Cantor's e-mail address is

gcantor614@aol.com.

March 9 • 2006

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