Overview
- Iranian missile attacks following a joint Israeli–U.S. operation put Israel under a state of emergency as the IDF Home Front Command banned large public gatherings and directed civilians to shelter.
- Megillah readings and celebrations shifted to protected spaces such as communal bomb shelters, underground parking garages, and apartment safe rooms, with sirens frequently interrupting events.
- Senior Sephardi authority Rav Yitzchok Yosef issued wartime rulings prioritizing safety and stating the obligation to hear the Megillah cannot be fulfilled via radio, phone, or Zoom, while outlining how to pause and resume readings during alerts.
- Chabad emissaries and local volunteers organized dozens of small readings, went door to door with mishloach manot, and coordinated outreach so families sheltering at home could fulfill Purim’s mitzvot safely.
- Jewish communities in the United States held local observances and expressed solidarity, with rabbis and congregants drawing explicit parallels between the Purim story and the current Iran-related conflict.