For over a year, an image of the Bibas family in Batman pajamas symbolized the global call for their return from captivity in Gaza. This Purim, children in Israel and beyond are dressing as Batman for Purim to honor Ariel Bibas, the 4-year-old who was a passionate fan of the superhero before being abducted and later killed. From classrooms to costume shops, tributes to the Bibas brothers are spreading, with orange Batman capes representing both Ariel’s love for the character and the brothers’ distinctive red hair.
Why Batman for Purim?
Batman was a passion for Ariel, who was 4 when he and his family were abducted from their home in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. He had dressed as the superhero for Purim that year, and his parents, Shiri and Yarden, were happy to buy matching gear for the entire family, including his new baby brother Kfir.
Now, on the first Purim since Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were confirmed dead and returned to Israel for burial—and with Yarden back in Israel after a hostage release last month—Jews around the world are dressing as Batman in their honor.
In Israel, entire classes of schoolchildren have worn orange Batman capes and masks, in a nod to both Ariel Bibas’ passion for the superhero and the brothers’ red hair. A costume shop in Jerusalem offered Bibas-honoring Batman garb for just 10 shekels (about $2.75).
“This is a pure loss from my own pocket, but I want to do it,” the store’s owner told the Jerusalem Post. “I see in all the comments that there’s a huge desire to dress up as Batman for Purim in honor of the Bibas family. So I got masks—one shekel each—just so TikTok on Purim will be filled with this mask.”
How Purim Costumes Became a Tribute
In the United States, parents have imbued their children’s dress-up closets with emotional significance. “My little Batman has no idea of the significance of his Purim costume choice this year,” one mother wrote on an Instagram story this week. Another family posted a video about putting together Batman-themed mishloach manot, the sweets-filled gift bags that are traditionally distributed on the holiday.
A Purim call to action began circulating in late February, after Hamas released the bodies of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir as part of a ceasefire deal. In the days leading up to the holiday, which commemorates the ancient Persian Jews’ triumph over a plot to kill them and is celebrated with costume parties and other rituals, the Bibas family received many questions about whether it was appropriate to take part in the call.
Yes, said the family, which has sought to manage the collective memory of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, as well as Yarden’s exposure to new trauma. And on Wednesday, as Israel began its festivities, the family posted about the widespread Batman costumes.
“The heart missed a beat twice today. Once when we woke up to a morning without new photos of Ariel and Kfir dressed up for Purim, and the second time when we saw all the incredible gestures on the streets of Israel,” the family said on its social media account alongside a photograph of Yarden holding a plea for the return of his best friend, David Cunio, and his brother, Ariel Cunio, who remain in captivity.
“Time after time during the last almost year and a half, and especially during the last few weeks, you have shown us that Ariel and Kfir will never leave us,” the family said.
The Bibas family became an intense symbol of the Israeli hostages in Gaza during the more than a year when Ariel and Kfir were the only children who remained in captivity, their fate unknown.
“All kids are Batman for Purim. Mine don’t want to be. What do I do?” one parent wrote to pro-Israel influencer Jonny Daniels in a question he posted on his Instagram account. His response: “Let them do exactly what they want. This is a festival for them, not our guilt. … We all mourn and connect in different ways. We don’t need to force our children to do that.”
