The basic story of the holiday of Purim, which starts Thursday night, is this. The King of the Persian empire takes a Jewish bride, Esther, who conceals her Jewish identity. Meanwhile, the king's evil vizier, Haman, plots a genocide of Jews throughout the empire, and wins the king's blessing to undertake the massacre on the 14th day of the month of Adar. Esther's uncle Mordechai gets wind of the plot, and beseeches Esther to intervene. Esther persuades the king to execute Haman, but the decree approving the massacre cannot be revoked. The king instead gives Jews throughout the empire the right to defend themselves, and the following transpires:
For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand. But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness
The text could not be clearer that the Jews rose in self-defense, and killed not random people, but the enemies who were preparing the genocide.
