Whatever one thinks about the joint American-Israeli war on Iran, the timing could not have been more mystical.
The timing was not lost on anyone with even a modicum of knowledge of Jewish history, the Bible and the Talmudic imperative, "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.”
Purim begins Monday night, just days after the joint Israeli-American attack began. Jews celebrate Purim as a triumph over evil conceived by the imperial officer Haman to annihilate them throughout the ancient Persian empire.
Jews have lived in Persia, modern day Iran, for some 2,600 years, ever since their first temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BCE (before the common era) by the Babylonians who exiled them to modern day Iraq and eastward to Persia.
Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians in 539 BCE. Cyrus permitted Jews to return to Jerusalem. Many did. The majority remained in Persia and Babylon for the next 2,500 years until Iraq and Iran responded to the creation of the State of Israel and Islamic extremism by forcing all but a few remnants of their respective Jewish communities to emigrate, mostly to Israel.
At one time Iran had strong relations with Israel. After the shah was replaced by the Islamic Republic, Jews and Israel became Iran’s enemies.
Recent Jewish holidays have not been strictly moments of religious reflection and joy. Egypt and Syria launched the Yom Kippur War on October 6, 1973, Judaism’s holiest day. Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, came on Simchat Torah, the day Jews celebrate the completion and the start of a new annual reading of the Five Books of Moses.
Trump’s wars have been marked by flashpoints of military prowess followed by unplanned, unknown aftereffects. In Venezuela, regime change was not a priority beyond capturing Nicolas Maduro. Trump had secretly courted Nicolas Maduro’s vice president to succeed him, leaving the impression that he just wanted Maduro out and assurances America would get access to the country’s oil. Instituting democracy was not top of mind. Trump is not a champion of democracy, at home or abroad, as his cozying up to autocrats abroad and his denigration of American election integrity have amply displayed.
Trump’s comments after his Irani adventure have waffled as to expectations of whom will replace the decapitated Irani leadership. His picks were thwarted by Israel’s success in killing most of Iran’s leadership in the opening minutes of the air campaign.
So now he envisions a four to five weeks long air assault with as yet no plans for boots on the ground. Has he reached agreement with Israel on the type of Irani leader acceptable to both combat partners? Who knows? Is he prepared for weeks, months or a longer disruption of Persian Gulf oil supplies? Who knows? Is Trump ready for body bags to come home encasing American airmen? Well, we know he said combat deaths were inevitable. How large is America’s tolerance of casualties before dissent ripples through the heartland?
Extremism—political and religious—are here to stay, in the U.S., Israel, Europe and the Middle East. No one can predict when Israel will confront the next Haman bent on its destruction, when it will be forced to “rise up and kill” first. But it surely, sadly, will come to pass.
For America, existential threats are to be found in Russia and China, if their leaderships so choose. But disaster is far from a realistic certainty.
Iran has been a rogue state for decades, leading many Western countries and Sunni Moslem states to support the attack. Domestically, Trump faces negative feedback for failing to seek congressional approval for initiating what clearly is a war, as required by the Constitution. Few legislators will be crying tears for the Irani leadership killed, but another embrace of an imperial presidency has many worried about our slide away from representative democratic government.
Yet another example of our race toward degeneracy is news that fortunes have been made on betting sites, especially one affiliated with Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., predicting when war would break out and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be killed.
Through a lottery (a “pur”) Haman chose the date Jews would be massacred throughout Persia. How ironic that betting on a date came full circle for Khamenei (https://www.npr.org/2026/03/01/nx-s1-5731568/polymarket-trade-iran-supreme-leader-killing).
