Esther and Mordechai's Tombs Still Standing 2,500 Years Later

Iran is an unlikely place to find the remains of two of Israel's most revered heroes. 

The Shia Muslim country isn't shy about its mission to wipe Israel and the Jewish people off the map, but thousands of years ago it was the place where Esther and her uncle, Mordechai, saved Israel. 

Today, their tombs are tucked away in the city of Hamadan in what many believe was the ancient capital city of Persia.

Here, the country's Jewish population come to remember the queen that saved their ancestors. 

"The Jews are very proud of the site as part of their 2,700-year history in Iran," Swedish writer and activist Annika Hernroth-Rothstein told Breaking Israel News. "The tomb is prominent, very accessible, and very well kept."

While the tombs stand proudly today, there have still been attempts to erase a Jewish connection to it. 

Anti-Israel protestors have also surrounded the tomb and threatened to take it down. The Iranian government has even gone so far to say that Purim, the Jewish holiday that celebrates Esther's victory for the Jewish people, is actually a holiday about a Jewish massacre of Iranians. 

The tombs are quiet in recent days and stand as a message that Israel will survive despite being surrounded by hate.