ISRAEL: Purim partying

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My colleague Batsheva Sobel has already laid out the historical background and charitable heart of the Jewish holiday of Purim.

But for the uninitiated, Purim in Jerusalem feels like an unexpected cross between Halloween and Mardi Gras. Excessive drunkenness is actually religiously mandated, according to some interpretations of the Torah, and the streets of normally-sedate West Jerusalem were packed well past 1 a.m. with costumed celebrants on an extended pub-crawl.

Here’s a few snapshots from Thursday night.

— Ashraf Khalil in Jerusalem