March 8: International Women’s Day

On this date in 1998, Andrei Kurayev, an anti-Semitic archdeacon of the Russian Orthodox Church, alleged that International Women’s Day, annually celebrated throughout the world on March 8, was secretly tied to the Jewish holiday of Purim, when Jews, he wrote, celebrate their “unpunished mass murders.” Kurayev claimed that Clara Zetkin, who proposed the holiday at the Socialist International in Copenhagen, Denmark on this date in 1910, had fond childhood memories of celebrating Purim and had therefore made the link. In fact, Zetkin — a feminist leader of the German Social Democratic party and a co-founder of the Sparticist League (with Rosa Luxemburg, among others) — was not Jewish. International Women’s Day was first observed in 1911, by more than a million people around the world. Today is therefore the centennial observance, which is being celebrated with events in more than 100 countries, including Israel. The Israeli cabinet, however, recently rejected legislation proposed to honor International Women’s Day, including bills allowing flexible working hours for mothers, equal employment opportunities, and eradication of the committes that are required to approve abortions. At the same time, the cabinet increased the office budget of former president Moshe Katsav, who was recently convicted of rape and sexual assault.

“Those who do not move do not notice their chains.” —Rosa Luxemburg