In the Jewish city of Tel Aviv (pop. 174,000), most of it cordoned off from the rest of Palestine by British soldiers, the people crowded their synagogues last week. It was the time of Purim, ordinarily a time for dancing in the streets. Purim commemorates the Jews' deliverance from destruction by the Persians, as related in the Book of Esther. Now Tel Aviv's thousands prayed for deliverance from their troubles of today. At the close of services, rabbis and cantors issued warnings that children should not celebrate Purim with firecrackers or anything else that might sound like rifle fire....
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