Jewish institutions of all sorts across America have no choice but to be cautious.

Purim is most closely associated with costumes, triangular pastries called Hamantaschen, and howls of hatred each time the name of the Jews' genocidal nemesis, Haman, is read from the Book of Esther.

Sadly, I've come to expect that many Christians think that "the Jews" killed Jesus. They grew up in churches where clergy have irresponsibly used the Gospel of John on Good Friday without contextualizing the use of the phrase "the Jews" which litters the text.

When we are motivated by a love for the transcendent values of God, Torah and the Jewish people, our differences bolster us in the face of assault. But there is no such love among Jewish activists who work to punish and demonize Israel on the world stage as our enemies look on gleefully.