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Sarajevo Jews celebrate a second Purim. For centuries, they weren’t alone.
(JTA) — Starting tonight, many Jews around the world will celebrate Purim in the same ways: by reading the story of the heroic Queen Esther, dressing in festive costumes and drinking alcohol.
For many of the 900 or so Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it will be the first of two annual Purim celebrations.
Since 1820, locals have also observed the Purim de Saray (Saray being a root of the word Sarajevo) early in the Hebrew calendar month of Cheshvan, which usually falls in October or November of the Gregorian calendar.
In that year, the story goes, a local dervish was murdered, prompting the corrupt Ottoman pasha of Sarajevo, a high-ranking official, to kidnap 11 prominent Jews, including the community’s chief rabbi, a kabbalist named Moshe Danon. The pasha accused them of the murder of the dervish — who had converted from Judaism to Islam — and held them for ransom, demanding 50,000 groschen of silver from the Jewish community.
But the pasha, who was a transplant from elsewhere in the Ottoman empire, deeply offended the multiethnic populace of Sarajevo, who considered the Jewish community — then around one-fifth of the city’s entire population — an essential part of their home. So local Jews, Muslims and Christians rebelled together, storming the pasha’s palace and freeing the imprisoned community leaders.
Ever since, Bosnian Jews have celebrated that story by visiting the grave of the Sarajevan Jewish historian Zeki Effendi, who was the first to document it. Dozens also take part in a pilgrimage every summer to the grave of Rabbi Danon, who is buried in the south of Bosnia, not far from the Croatian border, where he died on his way to what was then Ottoman-controlled Palestine.
For centuries, several other Jewish communities around the world observed their own versions of Purim based on stories of local resistance to antisemitism, inspired by Esther and her uncle Mordecai, who in the original holiday story save all of Persia’s Jews from execution in the 5th century BCE.
Here are the stories behind some of those traditions.
Ancona, Italy
An aerial view of Ancona in 2006. (Wikimedia Commons)
Jews settled in and around Ancona on Italy’s Adriatic coast in the 10th century, and by the 13th century they had established a flourishing community, which included figures such as the Jewish traveler Jacob of Ancona — who may have beaten Marco Polo to China — and famed poet Immanuel the Roman, who despite his title was born in a town just south of Ancona.
Though the city’s Jewish community was largely spared by the Holocaust, it has slowly declined over the years and is believed to have fewer than 100 members today. What it is not short on, however, are local Purim stories — the city is known for multiple celebrations that were established over the centuries.
The first, marked on the 21st of the Hebrew month of Tevet (usually in January) was established at the end of the 17th century and marks an earthquake that nearly destroyed the city.
“On the 21st of Teveth, Friday evening, of the year 5451 (1690), at 8 and a quarter, there was a powerful earthquake. The doors of the temple were immediately opened and in a few moments it was filled with men, women and children, still half-naked and barefoot, who came to pray to the Eternal in front of the Holy Ark. A true miracle then took place in the Temple: there was only one light, which remained lit until it was possible to provide for it,” wrote Venetian Rabbi Yosef Fiammetta in 1741, in his text “Or Boqer,” meaning “the light of the morning.”
Other Ancona Purims were established a half and three-quarters of a century later, respectively. The story for the first commemorates fires that nearly destroyed the local synagogue but miraculously did not, and the next tells of a pogrom that nearly destroyed the community as Napoleon marched through Italy during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Today, these stories have largely faded into memory. But a few centuries ago, Italy had a high concentration of communities that celebrated local Purims — including in Casale Monferrato, Ferrara, Florence, Livorno, Padua, Senigallia, Trieste, Urbino, Verona and Turin — some into the 20th century.
“It would be hoped that the local Purims are not forgotten or that they are restored in the communities that have not completely died out,” the late Italian Rabbi Yehuda Nello Pavoncello once wrote, according to the Turin Jewish Community, “so that the memory of the events reconnects us to the infinite links of the chain of the generations that have preceded us, who have suffered.”
North Africa
An illustration shows King Sebastian of Portugal being fatally wounded at a battle in Morocco in 1578. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
The extra Purim phenomenon was not confined to Europe.
In Tripoli, Libya, local Jews established the so-called Purim Barghul after the deposition of a local tyrant in the late 18th century. Ali Burghul, an Ottoman officer who was installed after the downfall of the Qaramanli dynasty, ruled the region brutally for two years, treating minorities particularly harshly. After factions of the Qaramanlis were reconciled, Burghul was driven out. Jews would go on to celebrate that day, the 29th of Tevet (usually in January).
(Centuries later, in 1970, dictator Muammar Gaddafi established his own holiday, the Day of Revenge, which celebrated the expulsion of Italian officials from Libya; some say it also celebrated the exodus of Jews since the formation of the state of Israel. Within a few years after Gaddafi’s decree, Libya’s Jewish community had dwindled to less than two dozen, effectively ending the nearly 3,000-year history of Jews there.)
In northern Morocco, Jews commemorated the defeat of a Portuguese king, Don Sebastian, who attempted to take over parts of the country but was defeated in a battle in August 1578. Jews had believed that Sebastian would have tried to convert them to Christianity if he had prevailed.
Today only around 2,000 Jews remain in Morocco, but some Moroccan communities marked the day into the 21st century.
Saragossa
A view of an 11th-century palace in Zaragoza, Spain. The Purim of Saragossa story is set in either Zaragoza or Syracuse, Italy. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Scholars still debate which city was the origin of the Purim of Saragossa story — it could have been Zaragoza in Spain or Syracuse in southern Sicily, which was often referred to in the medieval era as Siragusa. Both cities were part of the Spanish empire in 1492 and were depopulated of Jews following the Inquisition.
Either way, Sephardic descendants in places around the world, including Israel and the Turkish city of Izmir, observed their own Purim story by fasting on the 16th of the Hebrew month of Shevat — generally in February — and feasting on the 17th.
The story tells of an apostate named Marcus who slandered the Jewish community to a non-Jewish king, putting their status in jeopardy. But at the last minute, Marcus’ deception is revealed, and he is executed while the community is saved.
The story could have been entirely fabricated. According to Jewish historian Elliot Horowitz, the establishment of this second Purim story may have been a way for the descendants of Saragossan Jews, whether they are originally Spanish or Sicilian, to maintain a unique identity in the larger Sephardic diaspora.
“The Jewish communities of the eastern Mediterranean in the early modern period were often composed of émigré subcommunities, each of which was distinguished by the customs and liturgy of its place of origin,” he wrote in his 2006 book “Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence.” “The ‘Purim of Saragossa,’ the earliest manuscript evidence for which dates only from the mid-eighteenth century, may well have been ‘invented’ by former ‘Saragossans’ eager to maintain their distinct identity in the multicultural Sephardi Diaspora of the eastern Mediterranean.”
Regardless of its origins, the Megillah of Saragossa text continued to be published through at least the end of the 19th century. It was well known enough that an American Reform rabbi from New York would publish a stage play based off of it in the 1940s.
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Israel Prepares for ‘Extreme Scenario’ With Iran, Warns Regime Will Face ‘Unimaginable’ Response if Tehran Strikes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Amid escalating regional tensions, Israel has warned Iran that any attempt to attack the Jewish state will be met with an “unimaginable” response, attempting to deter Tehran while preparing for an “extreme scenario” in which the Iranian regime strikes the Israeli homeland with an unprecedented level of force.
“Extremist forces refuse to lay down their arms and are regrouping to confront us once more … We are ready and remain on high alert to defend ourselves against any threat,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a speech at the graduation ceremony of the 74th Combat Officers Course of the 1st Airborne Division on Thursday.
“We are coordinating closely with our key ally, the United States. One thing is certain: If the ayatollahs [Iranian leaders] make the mistake of attacking us, they will face a response they can’ even imagine,” the Israeli leader continued. “We are prepared to fight to safeguard our security.”
According to Hebrew media reports, Israeli officials have been on high alert in recent weeks over what they describe as an “extreme Iranian scenario,” amid concerns about a potential surprise attack involving hypersonic missiles, drone swarms, and covert operatives targeting critical infrastructure and key air bases.
Under this scenario, Tehran could launch a coordinated, multi-front attack targeting Israeli Air Force bases, military headquarters, power and water infrastructure, fuel depots, major transport routes, and airports, with the goal of paralyzing the Israel Defense Forces’ air defenses, degrading strike capabilities, and disrupting reserve mobilization.
Israel’s main concern is that a sudden, concentrated barrage of Iranian weapons could overwhelm its air defense system, potentially forcing the IDF to focus on protecting key strategic sites while leaving population centers more exposed, according to Israeli news outlet Walla.
However, Israel has also seen increased backing from the US, which has expanded its military presence in the Persian Gulf and across the Middle East with additional air defense batteries and advanced radar systems.
Amid reports that nuclear talks between the US and Iran have yet to produce any meaningful results, large numbers of US forces are deploying to the region, signaling heightened tensions and the potential for renewed conflict.
According to military news site The War Zone, a significant fleet of fighter, surveillance, and intelligence aircraft have been sent to the Gulf, marking the fastest deployment pace seen in the past month.
At least a dozen F-22 fighter jets from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and F-16s from bases in Italy, Germany, and South Carolina have been deployed to the region.
Meanwhile, F-35 jets from the United Kingdom are now headed to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan — a recent hub of US air operations — while a dozen US Navy warships are also active in the area.
Amid mounting regional tensions, Washington could launch military strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, CBS News reported.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump warned that Iran must reach a “meaningful deal” in its negotiations with the White House within the next 10 days, or “bad things will happen.”
In the case of renewed conflict, US and Israeli officials reportedly expect to cooperate with regional partners to enhance surveillance and provide early warning before threats reach Israeli airspace.
As has often been the case in the past, Iran appears to be receiving only limited public backing from its allies, even as regional tensions continue to rise.
While the regime prepares for the possibility of a US strike, its proxy terrorist groups have so far held back from publicly pledging to take part in any confrontation — although some have vowed to join in the event of an attack on Iran.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem stopped short of promising a direct response to an attack on Iran, opting for cautious language while expressing public support for Tehran.
“We do not want war, but we are ready to defend ourselves and will not surrender,” Qassem said during a televised speech.
However, Israel has made it clear that if Hezbollah joins a potential war scenario, it will face a severe and damaging response.
The Houthis have warned against any “adventure” against Yemen, signaling the terrorist group could take part in any retaliatory escalation, reportedly with the US presence in the region as a primary target.
In Iraq, pro-Iranian militias urged fighters to prepare for what they described as a “total war” in support of Iran.
“It must be made clear to our enemies that war against Iran will not be a walk in the park — they will taste the terrible bitterness of death, and nothing of them will remain in our region,” terrorist leader Abu Hussein al-Hamidawy said in a statement.
On Tuesday, in response to US and Israeli threats, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shared an AI-generated image depicting a US aircraft carrier sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
“The US president constantly says that the US has sent a warship toward Iran. Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware,” the Iranian leader wrote in a post on X. “However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea.”
US and Israeli pressure is not the only challenge facing Tehran, as the European Union on Thursday formally designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, freezing its funds and financial assets in EU member states and prohibiting EU operators from making economic resources available to the group.
Meanwhile, the regime continues to face growing domestic unrest, with Iranians now marking the traditional chehelom — a Shiite mourning ritual observed 40 days after a person’s death — not only in cemeteries but also in streets and hospitals to honor those killed during last month’s violent government crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests.
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IHRA Definition of Antisemitism Advances Toward Approval in Two US States
Part of an exhibit on the Holocaust supported by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Photo: courtesy of IHRA.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism continues to make progress through state legislatures across the US, with the Wisconsin State Assembly on Tuesday approving a measure which would apply it to hate crime prosecutions and anti-discrimination statutes.
The bill, AB 446, allows for government officials to refer to the IHRA definition for guidance when “evaluating evidence of discriminatory intent for any law, ordinance, or policy in this state that prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, color, or national origin” or determining “enhanced criminal penalties for criminal offenses” in which a criminal chooses their victim based on racial, ethnic, or religious hatred.
AB 446 passed easily in the State Assembly by a vote of 66-33. Another similar bill awaits consideration by the Senate. If it succeeds there, both legislative proposals will have to be reconciled into a single, signable bill before being presented to Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat.
IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries including the US and Israel — adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations.
According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” It provides 11 specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere. Beyond classic antisemitic behavior associated with the likes of the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the examples include denial of the Holocaust and newer forms of antisemitism targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state, denying its right to exist, and holding it to standards not expected of any other democratic state.
On Monday, the Missouri House of Representatives also passed a bill to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism as a reference tool for assessing civil rights violations and a provision of policy handbooks for educational institutions. That bill also has a companion in the upper house of Missouri’s bicameral legislature.
The legislation, which would require schools to use the definition, aims to combat antisemitism in K-12 schools and on college campuses. In addition, the bill would require schools to outline prohibited antisemitic actions in their codes of conduct.
Both states advanced the legislation weeks after the City Council of Chicago voted to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
The measure was passed on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorated the 81st anniversary of the day when Jewish prisoners were liberated from Auschwitz, the Nazis’ deadliest extermination camp during World War II.
“Chicago now proudly joins a global consensus of more than 1,200 entities worldwide, including the United States, 37 US state governments, and 98 city and country bodies who have adopted this definition,” city council member Debra Silverstein, alderman of the 50th Ward, said in a statement at the time praising the action. “At a time when antisemitic hate crimes are surging locally, this unanimous City Council action sends an unmistakable message that anti-Jewish hate has no place in Chicago.”
Local governments’ embracing the IHRA definition of antisemitism comes amid a historic surge in antisemitic incidents across the US and the world.
In 2024, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) latest annual audit, there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents — an average of 25.6 a day — across the US, creating an atmosphere of hate not experienced in the nearly thirty years since the ADL began tracking such data in 1979. Incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault all increased by double digits, and for the first time ever a majority of outrages — 58 percent — were related to the existence of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state.
The ADL also reported dramatic rises in incidents on college campuses, which saw the largest growth in 2024. The 1,694 incidents tallied by the ADL amounted to an 84 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, antisemites were emboldened to commit more offenses in public in 2024 than they did in 2023, perpetrating 19 percent more attacks on Jewish people, pro-Israel demonstrators, and businesses perceived as being Jewish-owned or affiliated with Jews.
New York City, under its new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, recently revoked the IHRA definition along with a series of other executive orders enacted by his predecessor to combat antisemitism
US Jewish groups have sharply criticized the move.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry similarly lambasted the reversal as an invitation for intensified bigotry against Jewish New Yorkers, saying, “On his very first day as New York City mayor, Mamdani shows his true face: He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel. This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Green Party Congressional Candidate Vows to ‘De-Zionize’ US Government
Former US Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) is running for Congress again in the 2026 election cycle, this time as a Green Party candidate. Photo: Screenshot
Former US Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has launched a bid to return to Washington under the Green Party, unveiling a campaign platform that sharply denounces Israel and accuses the US government of being controlled by what she calls a “dual-loyalty regime.”
In a statement posted to her campaign website, McKinney alleges a “powerful Zionist lobby has infiltrated every level of our government,” claims US tax dollars are funding what she describes as a “genocide” in Gaza, and calls the US–Israel alliance “a hostage situation.” She further references the “Epstein files,” a series of documents detailing the communications of deceased serial sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, to suggest Israeli intelligence has engaged in criminal wrongdoing, allegations for which she provides no evidence.
McKinney’s platform proposes sweeping measures such as immediately ending all US military aid to Israel, revoking tax-exempt status for organizations she characterizes as foreign agents, supporting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, backing Palestinian “right of return” claims, and ceasing US diplomatic protection for Israeli officials at international courts.
Additionally, she has posted campaign graphics calling to “De-Zionize the government” and shared a quote blaming her 2006 reelection loss on pro-Israel supporters, claiming “Zionists undermined Dr. McKinney’s reelection.” The candidate also shared a quote from the antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan which claimed that she lost reelection because “she was not pro-Zionist.”
The rhetoric marks one of the most stridently anti-Israel campaign platforms in recent US political history. While debate over US policy toward Israel has intensified amid the ongoing war in Gaza, McKinney’s framing goes well beyond the positions held by most Democrats, including many progressive lawmakers critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Advocacy groups and Jewish organizations have long warned that language describing a shadowy “Zionist lobby” controlling American institutions echoes historical antisemitic tropes about dual loyalty and secret influence. Mainstream critics of Israeli policy typically distinguish between opposition to specific government actions and broader conspiratorial claims about Jewish political control.
McKinney, who represented Georgia in Congress for six terms before losing her seat in 2006, has a history of clashing with pro-Israel groups and Democratic leadership. After her congressional career, she became the Green Party’s presidential nominee in 2008. She has also previously participated in attempts to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, including voyages on the SS Dignity and Spirit of Humanity.
Moreover, McKinney is running to fill the seat previously vacated by former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene came under fire over issuing a series of antisemitic remarks suggesting that Israel exerts control over US foreign policy and that the war in Gaza is a “genocide.”
The US–Israel relationship, spanning more than seven decades, includes extensive military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and economic ties. Israel is widely viewed by US officials as a key strategic ally in the Middle East.
Under US law, foreign lobbying is regulated through the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and tax-exempt status is governed by strict Internal Revenue Service rules. Legal experts note that broad revocations based on political advocacy would face significant constitutional hurdles.
McKinney’s campaign announcement comes at a moment of heightened polarization over the Israel-Hamas war and US involvement in the Middle East. Whether her uncompromising platform resonates with Georgia voters remains to be seen, but it is likely to reignite debate over the boundaries between legitimate criticism of Israeli policy and rhetoric critics say veers into conspiracy and antisemitism.