The Great Purge of the Jewish People

Mordecai the Jew is a Canaanite enemy of the Jewish people going back to King Saul. Haman, who has the favor of the king and is a very high ranking court official, gets really grouchy when Mordecai reveals that he's a Jew. That's enough to provoke Haman and to make him want to abuse his royal court power to dispose not just of Mordecai, but of the Jews in general. Queen Esther sets up a trap to counteract Haman's trap.