Yahya Al-Sinwar during a previous meeting of the Hamas movement in Gaza (Anatolia)
An Israeli newspaper reported that the Israeli Ministry of Education has set the broad guidelines that educational personnel must adhere to when commemorating what is known as Purim next month, including prohibiting costumes that arouse fear or cause psychological harm.
In a report entitled “It is forbidden to disguise yourself as a Sinwar,” in reference to the head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Yahya Sinwar, the Israeli “Wella” website quoted a directive issued by the Ministry to ensure that the celebration takes place within its educational framework.
The Ministry also called for preventing students and children from disguising themselves in costumes that cause terror or fear or hurt feelings, taking into account the security situation and the nature of the stage.
In its instructions, the Ministry called on staff to encourage children to celebrate Eid “in a way that is appropriate for them,” in a way that does not arouse feelings of anxiety or sadness or cause harm to the rest of the celebrants.
The Ministry also recommended opening a discussion with the children in the coming days to help them choose their costume, which “allows them to express themselves happily and creatively without threatening the celebrants or the environment.”
According to the directives, anyone who arrives at school or kindergarten wearing a costume that raises threats or fear or hurts the feelings of others is prohibited from entering, and will be asked to change his costume in coordination with his parents.
Purim and October 7
Purim - which is celebrated this year on March 23 and 24 - is the most popular holiday in Israel, and celebrates what many historians and academics say is a pure myth that talks about the salvation of the Jews from the conspiracy of “Haman in Persia.”
It is a story they describe as fictional and was added to the approved books of the Old Testament, but the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs omits this detail in its definition of the holiday on its website, and presents it as if it were a commemoration of an actual historical event and not just a symbolic celebration.
Purim has a carnival character, and among its celebration rituals, children wear costumes while attending schools, kindergartens, and synagogues.
It is clear that the Ministry fears that the celebration will be affected by the effects of the attack of last October 7, after it dominated the public debate and even on children’s programs in the media and social networking platforms, in which, for example, clips appeared showing Jewish teenagers dancing to the beat of patriotic Palestinian songs, and some of them received death threats. Because of her.
Source: Israeli press