War on Iran: The Siren and the Bait

I WAS PLANNING TO WRITE ABOUT NARENDRA MODI’S long-awaited historic visit to Israel. Instead, I found myself writing about war and memory. Prime Minister Modi’s less-than-24-hour visit (February 25-26) unfolded under the shadow of escalating threats: US President Donald Trump warning Iran, Iran warning Israel. When I was asked wheth­er and when an Iranian attack might come, I answered decisively: only after Modi leaves. As long as he was on Israeli soil, he was our insurance policy.

In the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Modi referred to the Book of Esther. This is the first time India appears in the Jewish Bible. “From Hodu to Koosh,” it says, describing the vast kingdom of the Persian King Achashverosh. Hodu is the Hebrew word for India; Koosh refers to present-day Ethio­pia. The story is about the Jews exiled from Israel to Persia. The king’s adviser, the wicked Haman, plotted to annihilate all the Jews in the kingdom, even those in dis­tant India. Salvation came through Esther. As in the Walt Disney Cin­derella story, the king called for all the good-looking young girls to present themselves to become the queen. Esther, a beautiful Jewish girl, was selected and married the king. When she heard about Haman’s evil plot, she persuaded the king to save her people and get rid of Haman.

That ancient story is the basis of Purim, the holiday we were celebrating this very week. Each year, Purim falls around the same time as Holi. Both Judaism and Hinduism follow the lunar calen­dar; both holidays are festivals of colour and joy. Modi mentioned this resemblance between Diwali and Hanukkah, Holi and Purim, holidays that echo one another across continents.

But the animosity between Persia and the Jewish people is not confined to biblical stories. History, as we are reminded too often, has a tendency to repeat itself.

This year, Purim arrived with sirens.

We had planned a quiet family weekend. All the children came home. Two childhood friends of my husband and mine came and slept over. It was a full, happy house. For the past two years, I have served as honorary consul of Sri Lanka to Israel. On Satur­day morning (February 28) I drove to the airport to bid farewell to the Sri Lankan ambassador, who had concluded his three-year term. I joked with his young deputy that once the ambassador’s plane took off, he would become chargé d’affaires until a successor arrived. I added, half-jokingly, that now the Iranians could start attacking. At 7:30AM we were still laughing. At 8:30 the sirens wailed. The flight was cancelled. His appointment as chargé d’affaires was postponed.

As much as you expect a war, you are never ready. This time I had not stocked the safe room with water and food. From my ex­perience over the past 30 months, the longest we stayed in the room was two hours, a good time to diet. At the second siren we brought pil­lows, blankets, and folding chairs. On day two, my 90-year-old moth­er-in-law arrived. In her building, the shelter is in the basement; for her, racing down the stairs carries greater danger than any missile. The dynamics of the safe room are predictable. The dog is the first to arrive once he hears the siren. The cat hides under the sofa, thinking it will protect her from the missiles. We all argue about when it is safe to leave the room. My younger son is the strict one; he insists we remain the full 10 min­utes after each siren. My husband grows impatient after three. Negotiations ensue.

Beyond our walls, the fronts were multiplying. One hour into the war, thousands of reserve soldiers were called up. My older son among them. Israel knows how to move from zero to one very quickly. Although the major front of the war is 2,500 kilometres away, in such times Iran’s partners, such as Hezbollah in the north and other terrorist groups, wake up to assist their sponsor. Since the killing of Hassan Nasrallah and the pagers incident, Hezbollah had remained relatively quiet. A day into what Israel named Op­eration Lion’s Roar, Hezbollah announced it would join forces with Iran and attack Israel from Lebanon. Israel diverted forces accord­ingly. This time, Lebanon’s government condemned Hezbollah’s actions, wary of further devastation on its own soil and economy. Lebanon even withdrew its military from the southern region to allow Israeli forces to enter and fight Hezbollah. The militants, for their part, may have miscalculated, assuming Israel would respond proportionately. Instead, Israel sees an opportunity to dismantle infrastructure built up over the past year. The govern­ment of Lebanon would also be happy to rid itself of Hezbollah, which acts like a parasite.

Northern Israel is still bleeding from months of Hezbollah rocket fire during the Gaza war. Entire communities were evac­uated, and many residents, having rebuilt their lives in central Israel, may never return. Another round of escalation threatens to deepen wounds that had barely begun to heal.

The fear is not limited to rockets. In the northern towns and along the border with the West Bank, residents worry about in­filtration, a nightmare echo of October 7, 2023. The West Bank boundary is not hermetically sealed, nor are the northern borders. But it is not only about infiltration through borders. The massive tunnel networks that Hamas built in Gaza proved their extensive experience underground. Residents of Israeli villages near the borders fear what may lie beneath their feet.

We expected the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen would also join the party. They have no direct conflict with Israel, except for solidarity with Palestinians and funding from Iran. So far, they have not joined. During the Gaza war they claimed their attacks aimed to help the Palestinians. Perhaps now, with a ceasefire in Gaza, and as long as they receive no new instructions from Iran, they prefer to keep quiet.

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, known as Bibi, this war came at a convenient time. Elections are expected by the end of this year. Neutralising Iran’s nuclear ambitions and ballistic missile capabilities has long been central to his message. His alli­ances with leaders like Trump and Modi bolster his public image. War also postpones his ongoing trial hearings, a delay that is not politically inconvenient. Iranian expatriates march in American streets waving the flags of pre-revolutionary Iran alongside Israeli flags and chanting “Dear Bibi”. What more could he ask for?

Regionally, the escalation may revive the stalled momentum of the Abraham Accords. Only two weeks earlier I had led a businesswomen’s delega­tion to Bahrain, a new destination for Israeli busi­nesspeople seeking opportunities. Bahrain, the UAE, Sudan, and Morocco were the first Muslim states within the Abraham Accords to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia was expected to follow, but October 7, 2023 changed the course of events. As Iran now extends its aggres­sion beyond Israel, the region feels interconnected in a new way, destiny partners under fire from a lunatic regime. Saudi Arabia has signalled alignment with the US and Israel against Iran. The UAE and Bahrain are already in full coordination with Israel. It is very possible that this war will expedite diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as the IMEC, the India-Middle East Corridor, first announced at the G20 India summit in September 2023.

Purim is also intensely personal to me. The traditional pastry of the holiday is ‘Haman’s ears’, triangular cookies filled with poppy seeds. My grandmother baked them every year from a recipe only I have preserved. Religiously, each Purim I prepare them and share them with my extended family. This year they became comfort food in the safe room, sweet triangles of continuity as sirens sounded outside. The Shabbat before Purim, when this war began, is called ‘Remember’. Jews are commanded to remember Amalek, the an­cient tribe that attacked the Israelites in the desert. In Jewish tradi­tion, Haman of the Esther story is considered a descendant of the Amalek. Memory, for Jews, is not abstract; it is ritualised weekly, yearly, over millennia. Children learn stories that are thousands of years old. The past is never entirely past. It cannot be more symbolic: remembering what Amalekites and their descendants tried to do to us thousands of years ago, and what is attempted again now.

Modi began his speech in the Knesset with “Shalom”, meaning peace and hello. He ended with “Am Israel Hai,” meaning long live the people of Israel. Every Purim we recall how Per­sia once sought to eliminate the Jews. In Purim 2026, history again casts Persia as the antagonist. And yet, as we say each year, in and out of the safe rooms: Am Israel Hai.