Purim parties shift to shelters

The Purim holiday is usually marked with boisterous street parades and costume parties to celebrate the Jewish victory over an ancient Persian ruler. This year, the celebrations moved into fortified bomb shelters as the country wages war against Iran's modern-day leaders. In Tel Aviv on Monday, people of all ages wearing sequined suits, bunny ears, pirate costumes and peacock feathers streamed into a mall's underground parking lot that also functions as a bomb shelter for the traditional reading of the Purim story followed by a live band with dancing."It's all about choosing happiness, choosing to be joyful, no matter what else is going on," said Mariel Margulis, a Tel Aviv resident who had set up a tent in the parking garage and lived there for the past few days with her husband and 6-month old son.