The Jewish festival of Purim – in pictures

Ultra-orthodox Jews read the Esther scrolls at a synagogue in the Israeli town of Bnei Brak Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images A man and his son, dressed in costume, outside the synagogue in Bnei Brak Photograph: Oliver Weiken/EPA Boys in costume at school in the Mea Shaarim neighborhood of Jerusalem Photograph: Abir Sultan/EPA Boys pose for a photograph in Bnei Brak Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP A man arrives at a synagogue in Jerusalem Photograph: Sebastian Scheiner/AP Orthodox Jews in Stamford Hill, north London, celebrate Purim Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA A family in Stamford Hill Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Sisters Simcha, left, and Miri dressed as dolls in boxes in Bnei Brak Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP A boy looks out of a window in Bnei Brak Photograph: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images Girls dressed as old women in Stamford Hill Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA A young girl dressed as a bride in Bnei Brak Photograph: Oded Balilty/AP Jews belonging to the Lelov, a Hasidic dynasty from Poland, dance as they celebrate in Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images