Obama Statement Commemorating Purim

Michelle and my daughters and I want to wish all members of the Jewish community a joyous Purim celebration. Purim is a festive time for families, and especially children, with wonderful traditions of dressing in costume, carnivals and games, and giving gifts of food to friends and loved ones. It is also the time when Jews listen to the reading of the Megillah, the story of Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai saving the Jews of ancient Persia from destruction. Even as the parties are held, the songs are sung, and the noisemakers are rattled, the history of a people that has had to fight for its survival, remains at the heart of the Purim story. In our day, the celebration is mingled with a determination to ensure that Israel remains safe and strong, that we fight anti-Semitism wherever it occurs, and that the American Jewish community continues to play such an active and vital role in the life of our nation. To Jews across the country and throughout the world, we send our warm greetings for a happy Purim.