- Title: ISRAEL-HOLIDAY FESTIVAL Israelis celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim
- Date: 5th March 2015
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PARTICIPANT OF FESTIVAL, BELI, SAYING: "A happy Purim to all the countries, all the nations, all the Arab nations, all the Christian nations, all the nations from India and China and everywhere. Because Purim will bless everybody that will be like one." MORE OF FESTIVAL
- Embargoed: 20th March 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2MBPP0HU8YEKS7QC1IDT7IR8D
- Story Text: Celebrations for the Jewish holiday of Purim got underway on Thursday (March 5) with carnival-like parades in Israel and the West Bank, celebrated under heightened security.
In the Jewish settler enclave located inside the divided West Bank city of Hebron, settlers in colourful costumes cheered and danced through the streets, guarded by Israeli security forces.
Israeli politician, Baruch Marzel, participated in the festival by dancing in the streets with other Jews.
"When Jews are happy and united, we could take over all of our enemy. And our enemy will stop being happy because we are uniting to fight the enemy with no stopping," Marzel said.
Hebron has long been a flashpoint. Six-hundred-fifty Jewish settlers live in fortified enclaves guarded by Israeli soldiers in a city of 180,000 Palestinians.
Palestinians and many Western countries see the dozens of Jewish settlements Israel has built in the West Bank as a key obstacle to peace efforts.
A participant in the festival, Beli, said that Purim is not a holiday for Jews only but for all the people around the world.
"A happy Purim to all the countries, all the nations, all the Arab nations, all the Christian nations, all the nations from India and China and everywhere. Because Purim will bless everybody that will be like one," he said.
In the Tel Aviv suburb city of Holon, several hundred spectators in colourful costumes watched the annual parade, featuring cartoon and animal floats.
Israeli policemen cordoned off the street parade packed with adults and children in colourful costumes who came to watch the biggest Purim parade in Israel.
"So every year, in Purim there is here a celebration, the festival named 'Ad Lo Yada', It's the largest in here in Israel. So, a lot of schools, school students came here and make their show during (through) all the streets," a man at the parade said.
Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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