The Anti-Semite on Your TV

Today, Jews celebrate the holiday of Purim, a festival of revelry that commemorates their deliverance from an ancient genocidal plot. The story behind this day is recounted in the biblical Book of Esther. Traditionally, a scroll containing that book is read twice over the holiday, with listeners making noise to drown out the name of the story's villain, Haman, a vizier who manipulated the Persian king into nearly eradicating the Jews. Scholars date the Book of Esther back over 2,000 years, but in some ways, it could have been written yesterday.