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They don't see me as a person at all
The willfulness of the world to deny facts, to ignore history, and pick up toxic narratives from TikTok shouldn't be shocking anymore. But when I post about Israel, and the algorithm picks up the post and exposes my writing to hundreds of thousands of antisemites- I learn all about how people from all over are thinking. Not just thinking, but what they feel comfortable articulating. Like the lowest of the low language. A morality system that I don't recognize- who is right an

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Feb 242 min read


It feels too familiar this time
When I found out that Israel's homefront command had been told to prepare for w*r with a high-level defense alert declared - at the end of Rosh Chodesh Adar- my heart did a little leap. I think it came from a place of recognition. That sense of- wait- we've heard this story before. We learn from Rabbi Akiva that when he saw the fox amidst the ruins of the Temple- he laughed. Because he recognized that if the worst prophecies were to come true, so too would the redemption foll

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Feb 193 min read


I think most Israelis are this way now
I want to say something about the threats of w*r iwth Iran. Several news channels are reporting right now that amid tension with Iran, the US is preparing for a prolonged conflict. Israeli officials "are saying that they are preparing for hostilities to begin within days." We've all noticed that even though the US and Iran were in talks, the US has been stocking the region with weapons, planes, and ships. Talk about mixed messaging. Listen, every couple of weeks, the same mes

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Feb 182 min read


What would have happened if they had caught them?
I want to know what would have happened if they had caught them. Yesterday, two skirt-clad, weaponless, female IDF soldiers were rescued by police in Bnei Brak. V*olence erupted after the soldiers were seen in the neighborhood, and there was a rumor spread that they had arrived to distribute military draft notices. The IDF reported that they were not, but were in the neighborhood to do a welfare visit as part of their regular duties as squad commanders at the Education and Yo

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Feb 162 min read


No one can say they didn't know
I remember the day that Arbel was released from G*za. She was paraded through the streets in a sea of green headbands, rough men grasping her, pressing into her, practically suff*cating her. We held our breaths as she walked through that pit of vipers, unsure whether she would keep putting one foot in front of the other, whether she would get out of there alive. Any moment felt like it could all just erupt in v*olence and end. So precarious. She, so precious and small compare

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Feb 153 min read


No rage. Just love.
I'm fascinated by this question that has come up in response to Bad Bunny and his half-time show. "What is American?" and "Who is American?" I watched the show the next day. I didn't understand a word of what was said, but obvious the music had great beats, and it was very entertaining. One can argue about "the appropriateness for public television" of the language or dancing, but that's irrelevant for this post. I actually got pretty emotional watching the story that Benito

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Feb 102 min read


Robert Kraft's Super Bowl Commercial
I think Robert Kraft's Super Bowl commercial about antisemitism brought up this question of identity. I see people all over social media and in WhatsApp groups asking- What is it that we want the world to know about antisemitism- - and what is it that we want them to know about us? Are we victims or warriors? Are we weak or strong? Should we be liked because we are innovative or smart? Or would our fearsomeness be enough to scare the bullies away? I wonder about this question

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Feb 92 min read


Losing control of truth
The level of psychotic Jew hatred, post the release of the Epstein files, is unlike anything I've ever seen. It has been horrific since Oct 7th, but the level of conspiracy that has broken into the "mainstream" is beyond comprehension. People with the biggest podcasts in the world like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, are saying things that the "craziest conspiracy podcasters" would say- but now, because of the release of the files- (which rational people are still trying to

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Feb 43 min read


Weep in joy, in heartbreak, in gratitude, in grief
Ran Gvilli z"l is on his way home. The IDF recovered his body in a cemetery in eastern Gaza City. He has been positively identified, and his family has been informed that he is on his way home, for burial. I think every Israeli and Jew in the world is flooded with feelings. We are so grateful that he has been found and his family has closure. With his return, there are no more Israeli hostages, alive or dead, left in Gaza. Which means, that this part of this fever-dream we ha

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Jan 262 min read


You will always be your nation's baby
Kfir Bibas would have been three today. When a little boy turns three years old in Jewish tradition, it means something. In many Jewish communities, it is the age of becoming. For some its the first haircut- transitioning from a baby to a boy. For others its the beginning of learning Torah, the focus shifting from babyhood to education. For all children, it's when language begins to explode- they begin to notice the world around them on a deeper level. They begin to participa

Shira Lankin Sheps, MSW
Jan 182 min read
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