Iran Intensifies Its Violent Campaign Against Jews

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- This past weekend, Jews celebratedPurim, the boisterous holiday that commemorates the escape bytheir forebears in Persia from certain annihilation.

The Scroll of Esther, which is read each Purim, recountsthe unraveling of a genocidal plot initiated by the dyspepticvizier Haman, who convinces his king, Ahasuerus, that a certainstiff-necked group should be expunged from his realm: “There isone nation scattered and dispersed among the nations throughoutthe provinces of your kingdom, whose laws are unlike those ofany other nation and who do not obey the laws of the King. It isnot in the King’s interest to tolerate them,” Haman tellsAhasuerus, according to the story. “If it please the King, letan edict be issued for their destruction.”