March is Women’s History Month and if the historical mistreatment of women is to serve as an important theme then we are obligated to turn our attention to the most mistreated women of them all, of late, and that would be Jewish women. Last October 7, Jewish women were, en masse, brutally raped, sexually tortured, murdered, and mutilated by Hamas. The cruelty inflicted is beyond words but Hamas was not finished. Some of the Jewish women were kidnapped and dragged away to Gaza where the abuse continues. Adding insult to injury, a complicit United Nations seems more intent on covering up the numerous atrocities committed against Jewish women on October 7 than revealing them. Imagine that -- the world cries for justice for women, but not so much if the women are Jewish.

It just so happens that March is also the month that the Jewish holiday of Purim falls (begins sundown this Saturday). Purim celebrates the survival story of the Jewish people that took place in ancient Persia, the demise of a wicked man named Haman (top adviser to King Ahasuerus and author of the plan to massacre the Jews), and the courage of a Jewish woman who saved her people.

The heroine of the Purim story is Esther. Esther was a woman who by an act of fate (winning a beauty contest she did not want to partake in) was selected by King Ahasuerus to be his queen. But Queen Esther was more than a pretty face. She was a woman of destiny.

Esther was an orphan child raised by her relative and guardian Mordecai. Other than Mordecai nobody knew Esther was Jewish. When Queen Esther learned of Haman’s plot to kill the Jews it took all her courage to go to the king unsummoned (a capital-punishment crime at the time). She also risked her life by revealing to Ahasuerus her secret Jewish identity and the threat posed to her and her fellow Jews by Haman. The bravery of Esther saved the Jews from Haman and proved to be his undoing.

On Purim, as part of the celebration, it is customary to wear a costume. Traditional costume for Jewish girls means dressing up as Queen Esther. Not surprisingly my mother, my wife, and my daughter were all once young Queen Esthers. Try as I may, I cannot remove the thought in my head that, like all the special women in my life, the Jewish women murdered on October 7 and the ones being held hostage in Gaza today were all onetime young Queen Esthers -- and I shed a special tear for them.

Like never before, I now worry about the safety of Jewish women. I feel as if they have targets on their backs. The Hamas butchers have proven beyond all doubt that they have no sense of decency. Should any Jewish woman fall into their hands -- be it grandmother, mother, or daughter -- she should expect the same fate that her Jewish sisters had that October 7.

For months now, Hamas has fired their deadly rockets at Israeli cities while they hide in underground tunnels surrounding themselves with Jewish hostages below and the men, women, and children of Gaza above. Hamas is very proficient when it comes to turning people into human shields. In fact, the Hamas magicians have managed to transform everyone in Gaza into their own personal shields. Everyone in Gaza, that is, who isn’t Hamas.

If Hamas survives, it will rebuild and come back stronger and there will be much more death. Haman had his kill-the-Jews edict, Hamas has its own kill-the-Jews Charter. Hamas and Haman are one and the same. Hamas has been deemed a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and many other nations. Wouldn’t the world be a much better place without it?

Here is hoping that Israel can save all the remaining Queen Esthers held hostage in Gaza (and the Jewish boys and men hostages too). But if it is not to be then let us hope that the IDF makes sure Hamas ends up like Haman -- for the sake of all future Queen Esthers.

Image: Public Domain