Amid Iranian missile attacks, Israelis gathered in bomb shelters all over the country on Monday night to celebrate the holiday of Purim, which commemorates the Jewish people’s deliverance in ancient Persia.
With all official Purim celebrations banned by the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command due to the ongoing fighting, Israelis gathered in costume in safe rooms, parking garages and underground train stations.
Israelis marked the Jewish holiday of Purim in bomb shelters, amid ongoing conflict with Iran pic.twitter.com/4uk148RXhB
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 3, 2026
Purim celebrates the Jewish people’s deliverance in the Persian Empire during the fifth century. The biblical story of Esther describes how the Persian viceroy, Haman the Agagite, plotted to annihilate the Jews.
Through a series of miraculous events, the Jews survived—and Haman ended up hanging on the gallows he had erected for his arch-enemy Mordechai the Jew.
The central religious commandment of Purim, which is observed from Monday to Tuesday night in most places, and Tuesday to Wednesday in walled cities like Jerusalem, is hearing Megillat Esther (the biblical Scroll of Esther).
The Megillah was also read on Monday evening at Israel Defense Forces bases and outposts across the Jewish state, as well as in the Gaza Strip and Southern Lebanon.
Assaf Weiss, brother of slain IDF Warrant Officer (res.) Elon Weiss, told Army Radio on Tuesday, “We read the Megillah, and it’s a feeling that’s hard to put into words. Two hundred soldiers are sitting there, deeply moved—the cantor’s voice trembled.”
“It feels like historic moments that you’re part of,” Weiss added.
Purim—triumph over an enemy seeking your destruction. Centuries later, we are reliving that same story. pic.twitter.com/b38iOYxBhQ
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 3, 2026
On Sunday, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber called on the general public to strictly adhere to the IDF Home Front Command guidelines and recite the Megillah as close as possible to a bomb shelter.
“We are privileged to witness historic moments in which the magnitude of the kindness of God, blessed be He, is revealed before our eyes,” said Ber. “Our enemies, who rose up against us to destroy us, are falling one after another, fulfilling the verse of ‘their swords shall pierce their own hearts, and their bows shall be broken’ (Psalms 37:15),” he added.
The rabbi also called on the Israeli public to be careful not to “get drunk excessively” during the obligatory Purim seudah, or festive meal, noting that intoxication could lead people not to seek shelter during an Iranian missile attack.
Ber concluded his Purim letter with the blessing, “The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, happiness and honor (Esther 8:16)—so may it be for us.”
