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A graphic novel of the Purim story, from a Batman comics editor
(JTA) — In 1996, Jordan Gorfinkel launched two series of comics that get at the two sides to his personality and career.
One was “Birds of Prey” — which has since been the basis for several television and film adaptations — that he created while overseeing the Batman franchise as an editor at DC Comics. (Another claim to fame during his tenure from 1991-99 was the creation of “Batman: No Man’s Land,” which served as inspiration for the 2012 Christopher Nolan blockbuster “Dark Knight Rises.”)
The other that he launched 1996 was “Jewish Cartoon,” an ongoing series of comics that poke fun and celebrate aspects of Jewish life and religious observance. To date, he has followed a cast of characters in this series for over 1,000 cartoons.
Gorfinkel’s newest project combines those two passions into a graphic novel version of the Purim story, usually read in what’s called a Megillah scroll. Gorfinkel said “The Koren Tanakh Graphic Novel Esther,” which is illustrated by Yael Nathan, is a “Batman-style” adaptation.
It’s not his first collaboration with the Jewish publisher — three years ago, he published a graphic novel haggadah with the Israeli artist Erez Zadok.
He and Nathan spoke to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about their latest creation and what’s next in the Jewish graphic novel world.
JTA: What does the book provide beyond the normal Megillah story text?
Gorfinkel: The Koren Esther graphic novel is 100% kosher to bring to your Megillah reading because alongside the sequential art pages is the full, unabridged Hebrew text. The mitzvah is to listen to the Megillah in Hebrew and the tradition is to read it in the language you understand. That’s why this book presents the English translation in the captions and word balloons embedded in the fabulous art by Israeli illustrator Yael Nathan in a stunning package designed by Tzipora Ginzberg.
Why a graphic novel?
Nathan: From a visual perspective, this story has everything. Emotions, action, intrigue, great characters, battles and redemption. It really allowed me to flex my storytelling muscles and try to convey complex scenes and ideas in a limited space.
Gorfinkel: Esther/Hadassah is the O.G. Wonder Woman! Ripped away from her family, her land and her people to serve in a foreign court, keeping a secret identity until the moment comes to step up and be a savior. Megillat Esther is tailor-made for a graphic novel.
Is this book just for kids? Who do you want to reach?
Gorfinkel: I want to reach everyone. With Esther and the Passover haggadah graphic novel that preceded it, readers can return to the material at every age and gain new and deeper insights out of the experience. Think of it like a good “Simpsons” episode, or Pixar movie: kids enjoy the surface meaning while teens and adults experience the same material at deeper levels. The Jewish graphic novels that I produce are child-friendly but decidedly not childish. This is because I acknowledge that Western readers presume that if a book has pictures, it has to be for kids. I’m going to need a few more books to educate the masses otherwise!
Nathan: I think this book is for everyone. The style of the characters is purposefully endearing and humorous, to help people connect to them — but what is conveyed in each panel goes much deeper than cute characters. There is a wealth of knowledge and interpretations that are not in the plain text and are portrayed visually so the reader can take them in without reading a whole page of explanations. Both those who know the meaning behind the text would find interesting references, and those who don’t will learn something new.
Jordan Gorfinkel edited the DC Batman franchise from 1991-99. (Courtesy of Gorfinkel)
What comics did you grow up with? And what do comics mean to you?
Nathan: My father was born and raised in the Philippines, the son of Jewish immigrants who fled from Germany before the second World War. So my influences are from all over the world. I grew up looking at European comics, Israeli cartoons, American golden-age comics that my father brought over from the Philippines and Japanese manga. Comics mean the freedom to tell stories from my own viewpoint with no constraints. Unlike movies — where the efforts required to film a person in a room is much less involved than filming a full space scene with aliens and battleships — in comics, the work involved is all the same. It’s just drawing. No big budgets or additional resources needed. Just imagination and storytelling skill.
Gorfinkel: I never grew up. I’m a Jewish Peter Pan (Pinchas Pan?). In my youth, however, I devoured Batman comics, of course. The basic morality tales of extroverted “good guys” vanquishing evil and consistently delivering justice for all complemented the grade school Torah education I was receiving in Jewish day schools of a variety of different denominations. We moved around a lot, and these superheroes were my comfortable and consistent companions. As I got older, I began to lean into Marvel Comics, whose anti-heroes fought internal struggles between their “yetzer hatov” (good inclination) and “yetzer harah” (evil inclination). Teenaged Gorf appreciated how these nuanced characterizations reflected the deeper layers of Torah I was learning in high school and my gap year in an Israel yeshiva. At the same time, I was, and am, a huge fan of newspaper-style four panel comic strips, quite possibly introduced to me by my zayde [grandfather], who always clipped the Sunday funnies for me. My mother continues the tradition to this day. When I was first starting my own newspaper strip, I reached out for advice and “chizuk” to my favorite artists. I received handwritten replies from nearly everyone, from Charles “Peanuts” Schulz to G.B. “Doonesbury” Trudeau. To this day, I treasure Canadian cartoonist Lynn “For Better or For Worse” Johnston as a mentor and friend.
You have done a Passover graphic novel and now a Purim graphic novel. What’s next?
Gorfinkel: Esther is intended as the lead-off for a Koren graphic novel series surveying the entire Bible. We’re just getting underway… I am also conceptualizing a nonprofit Jewish graphic novel initiative as an umbrella organization, to provide further support for the Koren work and moreover, to train and provide support for the next generation of Jewish visual storytellers who reach out to me because they want to do what I do. Jewish people created the superhero medium. Now, I am bringing the medium full circle so that superheroes and graphic novels can benefit the Jewish people. At the same time, I am traveling North America and the world as a scholar in residence and Jewish Cartoon workshop instructor, spreading my core message: Make Judaism your superpower!
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Trump Admin to Designate Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan as a Terrorist Group
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a US-Paraguay Status of Forces agreement signing ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, US, Dec. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
The Trump administration will soon designate the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan as a terrorist group, the US State Department announced on Monday, following similar steps targeting the global Islamist network’s activity in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan.
“Today, the Department of State is designating the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and intends to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, effective March 16, 2026,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubion said in a statement.
“The Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood (SMB) uses unrestrained violence against civilians to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan and advance its violent Islamist ideology,” Rubio continued, noting the organization receives backing from the Islamist regime in Iran.
“Its fighters, many receiving training and other support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have conducted mass executions of civilians,” the top US diplomat added. “As the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the Iranian regime has financed and directed malign activities globally through its IRGC. The United States will use all available tools to deprive the Iranian regime and Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
The Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood’s armed wing, the al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade (BBMB), was blacklisted by the US government in September 2025 for its role in Sudan’s ongoing war.
“SMB’s BBMB fighters have conducted mass executions of civilians in areas they captured, and repeatedly and summarily executed civilians based on race, ethnicity, or perceived affiliation with opposition groups,” according to the State Department.
The terrorist designations will deny the Brotherhood’s members access to the US financial system, restricting their access to resources they need to carry out attacks.
“All property and interests in property of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood that are in the United States or that are in possession or control of a US person are blocked. US persons are generally prohibited from conducting business with sanctioned persons,” the State Department warned. “Persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood may expose themselves to sanctions risk. Notably, engaging in certain transactions with them entails risk of secondary sanctions pursuant to counterterrorism authorities.”
The State Department’s announcement came less than two months after the Trump administration designated branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan as terrorist groups.
US President Donald Trump in November signed an executive order directing his administration to determine whether to designate certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists.
The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has long been affiliated with the Brotherhood, drawing both ideological inspiration and even personnel from its ranks.
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London’s Luton Airport Apologizes to Israeli Author, Enhances Staff Training After Discriminatory Incident
Demonstrators hold Israeli and British flags outside the Law Courts, during a march against antisemitism, after an increase in the UK, during a temporary truce between the Palestinian Islamist terrorists Hamas and Israel, in London, Britain, Nov. 26, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Susannah Ireland
London’s Luton Airport has apologized to Israeli author Alon Penzel after airport security targeted him with antisemitic comments about Israel before detaining him, The Algemeiner has learned.
Penzel is the author of Testimonies Without Boundaries: Israel: October 7th, 2023, which is an uncensored and verified collection of first-hand testimonies related to the massacre that took place in southern Israel. Penzel is an Israeli citizen, journalist, and former Israeli government spokesperson.
In a formal written note, Luton Airport offered a “sincere and unreserved apology” for an incident that happened at the airport on Nov. 18, 2024, according to UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), which helped the author in his formal complaint against the establishment. Luton Airport said it has also implemented “enhanced training” for its staff members “to reinforce our commitment to ensuring that every passenger is treated with fairness, courtesy, and respect.”
“The safety and security of the airport is our highest priority, and we are required to uphold strict safety and security standards at all times. However, we fully acknowledge that your experience fell below the customer service standards we expect and strive to uphold,” the airport wrote. “We also provide our clear and unequivocal assurance to our Jewish and Israeli passengers — and to you personally — that you are always welcome at London Luton Airport. Discrimination of any kind has no place in our organization.”
Penzel welcomed the apology and said, “I hope that what happened to me will lead to greater awareness and sensitivity going forward.”
In November 2024, Penzel was in the United Kingdom to speak about Testimonies Without Boundaries at a House of Lords event. He was at Luton Airport on Nov. 18 and set to board an El Al flight back home to Israel when the incident occurred with airport security. Penzel believes he was discriminated against and detained unfairly by security guards and police because he is Israeli and Jewish.
After checking in and passing through security, Penzel was stopped by an airport security officer because he was carrying a sign promoting his book and wearing a sweatshirt that said, “End Jew Hatred,” according to UKLFI. The sign was too large to fit into his suitcase, so Penzel was carrying it facing his body.
Penzel claimed a security officer told him that the sign was “political” before making offensive comments referring to the Oct. 7 massacre in 2023 and the history of Israel. The author explained that the sign was used to promote his book and that he was just trying to carry it back home to Israel. Still, the security personnel accused Penzel of protesting and accused Israel of an “illegal occupation since 1948,” UKLFI shared.
Penzel was detained at the departure gate area by “several security guards and policemen,” according to the pro-Israel group of lawyers. His passport was also taken for a period of time, and he was forced to wait in a restricted area while security camera footage from the airport was reviewed.
“I traveled to the United Kingdom to speak about the victims and survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023, atrocity,” Penzel said. “To then be stopped, questioned, and detained while wearing a sweatshirt saying ‘End Jew Hatred’ was shocking and upsetting.”
Following the incident, UKLFI was told that the security guard who stopped Penzel is no longer employed by the airport.
“No passenger should ever be detained or questioned because of their nationality, religion, or the peaceful expression of their identity,” said a spokesperson for UKLFI. “We welcome the airport’s apology and its commitment to improved training. This case highlights the importance of ensuring that security powers are exercised lawfully and without discrimination.”
Daniel Berke of 3D Solicitors, who represented Penzel in his case against the airport, said their client “was subjected to a prolonged and unjustified detention in circumstances that were deeply distressing and publicly humiliating.”
“The apology issued by London Luton Airport is an important acknowledgment that the standards expected of airport security staff were not met on this occasion,” Berke shared in a statement. “We hope the enhanced training measures will prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
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‘Nothing to Save’: Defections, Command Breakdown Grip Iran’s Security Forces as US-Israel Strikes Pound Regime
Images of Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei and late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are displayed at a gathering to support Mojtaba Khamenei, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A taxi driver in Tehran this past week said he had picked up a commander from Iran’s Basij parliamentary force who, midway through the ride, hurled his mobile phone out the window into the rubble of a bombed building. The officer explained that many of his comrades in the Basij, the paramilitary organization operating under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were doing the same, hoping the Iranian regime would assume they had been killed.
The anecdote was relayed to The Algemeiner during a press briefing by Maneli Mirkhan — an Iranian strategist and founder of Dorna, an organization working on plans for a democratic transition in Iran — and reflected what she described as the “defection and collapse” of the regime’s forces of repression.
Similar stories abound in other reports from inside Iran. The French Le Monde newspaper recounted an incident in which a woman was caught by a neighbor, an intelligence services employee, while filming an airstrike. The man accused her of spying, and his wife called the police to report the “infidel,” the newspaper said.
“The irony: nobody answered. A mundane scene, but one that reveals much,” the article noted.
Mirkhan cautioned against overstating the regime’s immediate collapse, saying it remains in place. But “the confidence within the regime and within its ability to survive is no longer there,” she said.
The families of members of Iran’s security apparatus were increasingly urging their sons to stay home, she said, as targeted strikes by the joint US-Israeli operation hit bases used by repression units. According to her account, “several hundred” personnel linked to those forces were being killed daily in strikes on their facilities.
Among the targets in recent days was the IRGC’s Sarallah headquarters, a central node of Iran’s internal security system, as well as the headquarters of three brigades belonging to the Faraja special units, which handle crowd control and the suppression of protests.
With some facilities destroyed, units have begun moving into civilian infrastructure such as sports centers and other public buildings as backup bases and resting areas, she said. But the more immediate problem, according to Mirkhan, is that the chain of command is fraying.
Her organization, she said, is in contact with networks inside Iran to help provide exit strategies for members of the security forces who are seeking to defect. Most of those reaching out are rank-and-file personnel and mid-level commanders, she said.
“What we are witnessing is that they are disoriented because of a lack of clear command,” Mirkhan said.
She described what she called “moral fatigue” among regime forces, saying that in this environment state propaganda has been one of the few things still “giving them a bit of energy.” But even that, she said, is now being weakened as the system that carries and reinforces the regime’s messaging comes under pressure.
Mirkhan argued that expanding access to outside information — including through satellite television and internet connections — could further erode loyalty among security personnel by showing them there is “nothing to save anymore.”
She said the public response should be read in the context of the fighting. The Israel Defense Forces is warning Iranian civilians in some areas to stay home ahead of major strikes — similar to its policy in Gaza — and with attacks concentrated in specific zones, many people are not evacuating or gathering in the streets for now. But Mirkhan said that should not be mistaken for support for the regime or an absence of public anger.
“We saw it on the first night of strikes, when the news of [former Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei’s death was confirmed,” she said. “Even with lots of risk to their lives, people were in the street.”
Mirkhan outlined the war’s three aims — destroying the regime’s nuclear program, weakening its capacity for regional aggression, especially its missile arsenal, and opening space for Iranians themselves to bring down the regime. That last goal, she said, would not be achieved by military action alone.
“Regime change is not something that will be operated by the attacks,” she said. But the strikes can help “open the space where people can regain strength, can go out in more security, and build up what they need to bring down the regime and replace it.”