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(March 19, 2024 / JNS) Courage and identity are often our most powerful allies.

For many of us this year, Purim festivities won’t arrive soon enough. The Jewish holiday that is always marked by joyful celebrations seems to offer its own unique antidote to the challenges and pain that Jews everywhere are facing right now. For one night, we can forget our worries about the hostages, the war and antisemitism at home. We can don our masks and celebrate Mordechai and Queen Esther’s bravery. Purim, the calendar’s happiest Jewish holiday, emboldens our spirit and renews our sense of hope, even at the darkest of times.

A story has been brewing in my mind ever since I returned from a life-altering journey. My name is David Shakhmoroff, a 24-year-old first-generation American with roots tracing back to Uzbekistan, and I am here to take you on a ride through history, memory, and self-discovery.

The biggest news from the floor of Congress was Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s speech telling Israel to have new elections to get rid of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This was more than a despicable speech; it was an unprecedented interference into a democratically-elected government of an American ally. It’s also a statement from the Democratic Party to American Jews: “We don’t care about your interests.”

There is an expectation of many in the West that Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and his cohorts, or their successors, will gain control over Gaza, and in place of Hamas. Some western leaders express the view that in the aftermath of Israel’s war against Islamic terror in Gaza a Palestinian state should be established.

In the midst of making a mishloach manos delivery run this past Sunday, I drove by my local public library, which had signs outside about early voting. Since I’ve turned 18, I never missed an election, and my reward for being a “prime voter” is a sizable amount of mail, texts, and phone calls. How was I not aware that New York’s presidential primary is happening this week?

Since October 7, the question was when - not if - Joe Biden would cave to his leftist base on Israel.  This did not happen overnight, but it was always inevitable.  Biden has spent his entire career blowing in the direction of the prevailing political winds, and Democrats around the country are openly signaling that they want to dump Israel by the side of the road in favor of the Hamas terrorists who committed the greatest terror attack on a Western nation since 9/11.