By Steve Linde
Despite millennia of persecution and exile, the Jewish people – characterized by their historical resilience and survival often attributed to a divine covenant, enduring faith, and a mission to be a “light unto the nations” – is once more at war.
It is at times like these, that renown writers, reaching into the soul of their people, prefer to express their thoughts and emotions not in prose but in poetry. So, it was for this esteemed former editor of The Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Report, Steve Linde, who this Purim, penned this poignant poem below.
David E. Kaplan
Editor, Lay of the Land
There is a flame that runs through time,
An ancient, ever-lasting rhyme.
A people small, a story vast,
An echo rising from the past.
It burns in stone and desert sand,
In songs and prayers across the land.
In exiles forced to wander far,
Yet guided by a constant star.
Strange how this flame reveals its power.
For some, it warms the darkest hour.
For others, it ignites disdain
And turns old hatred into flame.
One word can stir the air with spite,
Old myths repeated day and night.
The ancient blame, the poisoned art
Of hurling lies at Jewish hearts.
They dress falsehood in robes of truth,
Recycling slanders long uncouth.
As if a scattered people few
Could bend the world the way they do.
Yet rising too across the earth
Are voices proving human worth.
A hand extended, calm and strong:
“You are not alone. You still belong.”
From distant shores and crowded streets,
From quiet homes where conscience beats,
Come words of courage, clear and bright,
A simple stand for what is right.
For every cry of rage and scorn,
Another light is quietly born.
A candle lit, a flag unfurled,
A sign of hope across the world.
So still the paradox remains:
Two currents running through our veins.
One born of darkness, fear and blame,
One guarding justice like a flame.
And though the shadows sometimes rise,
The flame endures. It never dies.
Steve Linde
Purim
March 4, 2026
About the poet:
Steve Linde, the JNS features editor, is a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Report and The Jerusalem Post and a former director at Kol Yisrael, Israel Radio’s English News. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, he grew up in Durban, South Africa and has graduate degrees in sociology and journalism, the latter from the University of California at Berkeley. He made aliyah in 1988, served in the IDF Artillery Corps and lives in Jerusalem.
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