CNN Says Timing of Attack on Iran ‘Has Symbolic Significance in Judaism’
The ongoing US and Israeli attacks have “symbolic significance in Judaism,” according to CNN .
Tal Shalev, a CNN reporter, says: “The timing of the US and Israeli attack on Iran has symbolic significance in Judaism. In the lead-up to the upcoming Jewish holiday of Purim, believers read the specific Old Testament passage known as Zachor,” writes Raw Egg Nationalist .
She further explains that the Israelites were commanded to remember an ancient attack by Amalek and to “wipe out” its memory once they returned to their homeland.
“The passage from the Book of Deuteronomy commands the ancient Israelites to remember an unprovoked attack by the people of Amalek and to wipe out the memory of Amalek once the Israelites were settled in their land.
“The passage is read publicly before Purim to fulfill the mitzvah of remembering Amalek as the archetypal enemy of Israel.”
Amalek has been used throughout the centuries as a term to describe various threats to the Jewish people and Israel, including Hitler and the Nazis.
In recent years, the term has been used for the Iranians, who are also said to pose an existential threat to Israel.
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered Iran an Amalek as early as 2009, when the country’s nuclear capabilities were already a growing concern,” writes Benyamin Cohen.
“Since then, Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has continued to call for the destruction of Israel and has armed and financed terrorist attacks by Hezbollah and Hamas, which Netanyahu has also described as a continuation of the legacy of Amalek after the October 7 massacre that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel.
The connection between Amalek and Iran is not only ideological, but also geographical. The story of Purim takes place in ancient Persia, present-day Iran. It revolves around Haman, a royal official who plots to exterminate the Jews. According to rabbinic tradition, Haman is a descendant of Amalek.
And those were precisely the words – “existential threat” – that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used when he thanked the US for the latest attacks just hours ago.
“My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, recently Israel and the United States launched an operation to eliminate the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.
I thank our great friend, President Donald Trump, for his historic leadership.”
Among the initial targets are facilities linked to the Iranian regime, including the residence of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.
So far, five cities have been targeted: Tehran, Karaj, Kermanshah, Qom and Isfahan.
President Trump addressed the nation in an eight-minute address, saying the Iranian regime must be held accountable for its historic attacks on the US and its allies, and for its refusal to abandon its ambition to acquire nuclear weapons.
He said the US will now destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, its navy and its “terrorist proxies” in the region.
He also called on the Iranian people to “take power” once the military operation ends.