T "amPr- pinion A MIX OF Spin Doctors Of Shushan Pessie Busel Novick Community View why would God have allowed her to end up with that sleaze? You know, I hear that all of those "girls" had to spend a ur story takes place in full year marinating in spices before Shushan, capital of the Persian they could even get in to see the king! Empire, some 60-odd years • I bet it's middah k'negged middah after the destruction of the First Temple. [measure for measure retribution]. Hadassah, the niece — and some in the What else could it be? I bet she wasn't know say wife — of Mordecai has been really careful with the laws of Family taken by force into the king's palace, Purity. That must be it. where she was chosen, above all others, • Maybe she had a secret life. to become the bride and favored wife of • It would explain the two names, that Ahashverosh. hussy! Let us listen to some of the talk on • And what about Mordecai, that poor the street in the Jewish Quarter. man... • Did you hear about that Hadassah, • Poor nothing. No sooner did she of course she obviously prefers to be become queen than she arranged for called Esther — less Jewish and all that him to get this wonderful position in — who has been made Queen of the the cabinet, Court Jew. Plenty of fringe Empire? Who'd have thought? benefits, I'll bet. • Who indeed? Remember that righ- • What do you want to bet he orches- teous act she used to put on? Always trated this whole thing. Coincidence? I praying? Always so careful about her think not. modesty? Yeah, right! And to think we • Right, and you know of course, she's were taken in by her... not admitting that she's Jewish. That's • How do you know it was an act? his idea, too. • Don't be so naive! And anyway -, I • Hmmph! I know the type, but who thought you were devout! Don't you would have thought it of descendants of believe that everything God does has a King Saul? purpose? • Who indeed? • Yes, but... The lessons of Purim are manifold. • But nothing. Obviously, our little Much is made, and rightfully so, of Hadassah wasn't the pure, sweet inno- the significance of the omission of cent she pretended to be. Otherwise, God's name from the Megillah. This, 0 Anti-Semitism from page 23 through non-campus radical groups that co-sponsor events and lectures that vilify Israel. Student organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Unions, which are now on 600 campuses in North America, are increasingly aggressive. They invite anti-Israel speakers and mount annual "Anti-Israeli Apartheid" week calling for boycotts of Israel and a "Palestine Awareness Week" that coincides with Israel's Independence Day. Their displays of bloody Israeli flags and bloodied Palestinians fill the center of campus; and they forcefully try to prevent Israel's supporters from speaking or being heard. More disturbing, many professors endorse the "3 D's" using the fashionable academic language of "post-colonial- 24 ism." Israel's "new historians," who write history from the point of view of Israel's enemies, supply the evidence. The anti- Israel bias of the United Nations and many human rights groups adds cred- ibility to their claims. Israel's supporters can, and should, reverse this trend. Since 2001, when StandWithUs formed, we have developed effective resources and strategies that all com- munities can use to counter the 3 D's, empower students and restore reason- able debate about Israel. We must remember that support for Israel is support for social justice and humanitarian values. Israel, with its lib- eral democracy, booming economy and ever-creative multicultural society, is one of the greatest achievements of the Jewish people and of the post-World War February 25 - 2010 i'*51:142'4: :4 _41:41441:4::4•1fr iN:ANAVkiNIIIAlt01..4e ll eAiat• ..**C'..". after all, is a story that depicts Divine others. How often do we hear blanket Providence, God's hand guiding the accusations of liability leveled against course of our fate in ways that may not victims of tragedy, rendered as though become discernible for many, many the accuser were gifted with a personal years. connection to the Divine? The gifts of Providence are not alway After all, nothing less than Divine perceived, even within span of a single Revelation would entitle anyone to judge life. And yet, as the Megillah points ou t, seemingly random catastrophic events God sees every event and weaves the purely from the perspective of his/her threads of each individual life into a own intellect, given the limitations and rich and colorful tapestry. fallibility that characterize all of human This is all good and well with his- thought. torical events, where we have the gift Does this mean that there are no of hindsight, revealing God's hand in reasons for the tragedies that strike seemingly insignificant circumstances. us as senseless? Faith dictates that we But what of the people of Shushan, in believe otherwise; surely God sees and the days of Esther, who had no idea enables every event for reasons of His where events were taking them? What own. At the same time, however, faith judgments were they entitled to make? neither demands nor even recommends None — as the fiction above would that in times of disaster we attempt to indicate — at least, none that would "justify the ways of God" by criticizing indict any of the leading players in our its victims. Save that sort of analysis/ drama. castigation for when you are criticizing How foolish our fictional gossips yourself, thank you very much. would have looked at the end of the Let us take a lesson from the story of Purim story when the heroism of Esther Purim and reserve judgment on events and Mordecai was revealed. Esther, after and individuals that we do not under- all, was taken — against all odds — to stand, until these events play themselves the palace of Ahashverosh not in retri- out to their natural ending. We never bution for sins past, but in preparation know what surprises may lie ahead. 'I for heroic acts to come. And yet, in our own time, one often Pessie Busel Novick of Oak Park is a Judaic finds individuals all too willing to judge, Studies teacher at Akiva Hebrew Day School generally to condemn, the actions of in Southfield. II era. It is not perfect. Its policies can be criticized and debated, but it struggles to live up to the highest ethics even in extremely difficult conditions. We must educate ourselves and oth- ers to challenge the 3 D's when they are expressed in the news media, our com- munities and among our peers. We must support pro-Israel students who have been mobilizing to counter this anti-Israel campaign, as StandWithUs has been doing on campuses around the world. Community members must encourage these students and help them sponsor events and speakers that present a mainstream perspective on Israel. Communities have a special responsi- bility in the campus wars. Students are transient, but the community stays. You can influence your local universities by notifying administrators when events or speakers become too extreme and by demanding balance in Israel-related subjects and events. The anti-Israel nar- rative has also entered middle and high school texts. Parents and the community should actively intervene, requesting more even-handed texts. The propaganda assault against Israel undermines Jews and the Jewish state and the human rights values it pretends to defend. This assault can and must be turned. It is up to all of us to do our part. LI Roberta P. Seid, Ph.D., spoke at several Michigan congregations and schools Feb. 3- 7 as a guest of StandWithUs/Michigan. The Israel education and advocacy organization is based in Los Angeles. StandWithUs educational materials, flyers and booklets are accessible at www.standwithus.com .