Voices from the Shelter
Real moments. Real Israel. Real resilience.
These videos were never planned or polished — they were born in the shelters, during sirens and uncertainty.
What started as quick clips to lift spirits became something more: a raw, human look at life in Israel through laughter, courage, and creativity.
This is Chic Shelter Unfiltered — where humor meets heart, and defiance meets hope.
Reel #22 — Choosing Wisdom Over Noise
I could listen to an ignorant, know-it-all podcaster — or I could listen to someone who actually knows what they’re talking about. So I chose the latter: a serious academic who lives here, who participated in the so-called peace process, an author, and a former Knesset member — someone who understands the realities, not just the headlines. Since spreading truth is a daunting and often lonely task, I decided to gift her with Chic Shelter products — a small gesture of gratitude and acknowledgment for her hard and tireless work. Chic Shelter — where style meets substance, and gratitude is always in fashion. 💙
Reel #20 — Chic Shelter: The Birthday Edition
How nice of the Houthis! With millions of their own people starving, they still managed to send a “celebration” rocket to our dear friend’s 65th birthday party. 🎉 How thoughtful of them. 🙃 We had to pause the festivities and do some Chic in the Shelter. So here I am, sharing a bit of our evening adventure. Some of the guests were very young — missing limbs, carrying injuries that tell stories no one should live through. I can’t imagine what their parents must feel, seeing their children like that. Many of those parents are still young themselves — in their early forties — watching their kids fight and fall, and some not fall, but live with missing limbs, burns, blindness, deafness — getting around in wheelchairs, adapting to the unthinkable. These are the lasting realities of war. It’s tragic — unbearably so. But that’s why we do what we do. Chic Shelter!
Reel #18 — For Ariel Bibas
I’m on my way to meet friends for a walk, commemorating the 6th birthday of Ariel Bibas — a birthday that isn’t happening, because he was murdered by hateful monsters. Who does something like that? What kind of person believes that killing a child — the very embodiment of innocence and sweetness — can ever accomplish anything? It’s impossible to understand. It boggles the mind… and breaks the soul. For me, it hardens the heart — and closes a piece of it forever. 💔
Reel #16 — Desperate Times, Desperate Laughs
I apologize in advance for making yet another reel — but I’m bored out of my mind, so just indulge me a little. No need to watch, really. I didn’t ask for this life. 🙃 A few days ago, we actually got a little respite — we were allowed out of our homes for the first time in days. And, true to form, Israeli drivers went wild. 🚗💨 Even I almost hit a pedestrian. Oy! And when I begged for forgiveness, he thought I was flirting with him. 🤦♀️ Desperate times, my friends. Definitely desperate times.
Reel #14 — Good News, Mullah Style
Good news! The U.S. bombed Iran — and now we have “peace.” Well… mullah-style peace. Tiny little detail. 🙃 And true to form, we got a lovely barrage of missiles to celebrate. Yay! 🎉 I’m reminding my loyal fan club that we’re all basically zombies at this point — sleep-deprived, dazed, and, let’s be honest, a little pudgy. Turns out when you can’t go outside or do anything active, snacks become a lifestyle. 🍫 So much for my bikini photoshoot plans. Oh well. Allah Akbar!
Reel #12 — Just Another “Regular” Day
Just another regular day — NOT! 🙃 I was driving home from a friend’s house when suddenly the sirens went off. No clue where to go, so while I’m still behind the wheel, I call my friend in the States. She’s calmly googling “public shelters near me” — from across the ocean! 🌍 She finds one, I rush over… and walk into a room packed with babies, kids, strollers, and chaos. Crying, laughter, phones buzzing — it’s loud, it’s surreal, it’s the new normal. You really can’t make this stuff up.
Reel #10 - Chic Shelter 2: The Sequel
Wow. What an incredible response from all of you out there in FB land!
Because of your messages, your laughter, and your love, Chic Shelter officially has a pulse.
So, this is Chic Shelter 2, part of the growing series.
The idea keeps morphing, evolving - thanks to you.
I also talk about my book or what was my book - The Irony Dome.
Now it's become a blog on my website, where I'll keep exploring all those ideas about life, humor, and resilience under fire.
And in true Chic Shelter fashion, I'm dressed for the occasion different wig, new glasses, jewelry, the works.
I'm not going anywhere... but I can pretend, can't I?
Reel #8 - The Birth of Chic Shelter
My first mention of Chic Shelter - the moment this whole thing started to take shape.
It's not a brand yet, not a line, just... a feeling. A pulse.
I've been couped up for days with nothing to do but wait
so I decided to give myself a new look. Wig, new glasses, colorful top.
Maybe, just maybe, if I look fabulous enough, the mullahs will stop sending missiles.
Ya think?
Somewhere between humor and chaos, Chic Shelter was born a little style, a little madness, and a whole lot of survival.
Reel #6 — The Shelter Show
Running to the shelter (again!) — but this time, it’s a musical. 🎶 Yup, you heard that right.
Apparently, the new normal comes with creativity.
So I sang my way through it… because if I can’t stop the sirens, I might as well give them a soundtrack. 😉
Maybe there’s a Broadway career waiting for me — what do you think? Should I send this in as my audition tape?
Who knew I could be this funny under fire?
Reel #4 - Greetings from the Land of Milk, Honey, and Rockets
Greetings from the land of milk and honey… and rockets. We’re couped up in the shelter, waiting for missiles, while our young soldiers are out there fighting Islamic craziness and, somehow, saving civilization. So, I did what anyone in Israel does during chaos — I cooked up a storm. Because when the world makes no sense, at least dinner can.
Reel #21 — From Sheltering to Shining
WOW!! My second pop-up shop — still testing the model, but what a difference this time. No more shlomping in the shelter. No more despondence. No more complaining. Just iron resolve and a commitment to spreading positivity. 💪✨ And the result? A success beyond anything I expected! I was the first vendor to sell and the last vendor to sell — three hours of nonstop sales! I completely cleaned out my inventory. 🙌 All profits will go toward funding psychological and physical care for our beautiful soldiers — young men and women whose lives will never be the same. Chic Shelter — merch with a mission. Join the mission. ❤️🇮🇱
Reel #19 — Chic Shelter Pops Up!
It’s happening — Chic Shelter is coming to life! 💫 Today was my very first pop-up shop, a test drive with a multitude of amazing vendors. I was really nervous — my neighboring booths were so beautiful, and so many of their items looked professionally crafted. And then… I became the first vendor to make a sale! 🙌 That little moment gave me something priceless — a spark of confidence I definitely knew I was missing. Chic Shelter is no longer just an idea — it’s happening. ❤️
Reel #17 - A Message to the Anti-Zionist Crowd
This one's for the anti-Zionist crowd - and there are plenty of you out there.
Since you love the mullahs so much, I have a simple request: can we please schedule the sirens outside of my illegal exercise activities? That's not asking for too much, is it?
You hate Zionists? Fine.
But the only thing worse than a Zionist... is a fat, roly-poly Zionist.
So please help us out here!
Reel #15 — The Pool That Wasn’t
My playdate at a private pool was cancelled — again! 💦 I was all ready: sunscreened, bathing suit on, cap and fins in place — set for a great day. Wrong! Even that isn’t allowed. So here we are, wondering how to fill our days. This is shelter existence, even when you’re technically out of the shelter. To honor the day? No glam for me. Just sunscreen, frustration, and a dash of irony. 😉
Reel #13 — A New Reality, A Wake-Up Call
A new reality. A real wake-up call. Ignorant but popular voices are lending their support to terrorists — people who have no idea what we’re actually living through. Climate change used to be the crisis of the day… but I guess that went by the wayside, now that the “new mission” is delegitimizing my existence — and others like me. Who would have thought? So while they’re sipping lattes and feeling virtuous, I’m alone in the shelter, wondering if my loved ones are safe. We’re fighting a global caliphate movement, and somehow, they think they know better. Go figure.
Reel #11 - Missile Siren Sleep Deprivation Syndrome
I'm still waiting for some official recognition of my new discovery:
Missile Siren Sleep Deprivation Syndrome.
Symptoms include:
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Zombie face
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Random snacking
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Glam with nowhere to go
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Phone rants
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Fake optimism
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And forgetting who's even in your bed at night.
But amid the madness, some good news a hospital was evacuated minutes before it was bombed, unknowingly. Every single life was saved.
It's moments like this that remind us how fragile, unpredictable, and miraculous life can be even when it's hanging by a thread.
Reel #9 - Manicure Between Bombs
On my way to get a manicure - between bombs.
I have no real reason to be coiffed, but somehow it feels important.
A tiny act of sanity and normalcy in a world that's lost both.
I talk about the surreal nature of it all how we keep living, adjusting, pretending this is normal.
And how it hits hardest for the children
too young, too innocent to understand why the world around them keeps exploding.
Because sometimes, holding onto a little beauty is how we hold onto our humanity.
Reel #7 - Father's Day, Israeli Style
It's Father's Day a day meant for celebrating. But here, we feel the war. It's real.
The country has shut down: No stores. No cafés. No school. The streets are empty no cars, no people. Just silence and sirens.
There's confusion everywhere, but one thing is clear we're in an actual state of war.
Still, there's a silver lining.
The labs are open! And I got to drop off a urine sample which, oddly enough, became the highlight of my day. Because it meant I had a purpose... and a reason to step outside.
Yahoo!
Reel #5 — Still Here
Last night was a sh*t show.
I’m still alive — but not everyone is.
Missiles poured down across the country. It felt biblical.
So today, I’m focusing on the only thing I can control — my response.
Refusing to let evil people win by choosing gratitude, humor, and life itself.
Resilience isn’t denial — it’s choosing life, again and again, no matter how much your heart is broken.
Reel #3 - A new alarm
A new alarm — not from my phone but from the sky — jolts awake me at 4 a.m. At least this time my hair’s washed. Progress. I talk about the absurdity of it all, trying to make sense of the madness. It’s a strange time to be alive, when hate feels louder than reason. And somehow, I’ve become the hatee instead of the hater. Why? I don’t know. I didn’t do anything… did I? This is Chic Shelter Unfiltered — where humor meets heart, and defiance meets hope.
Reel #2 - The New Normal
Here we go again!! Another siren, another dash to the shelter. I start by apologizing for my appearance (because apparently rockets don't wait for makeup). If I'm going to be bombed shouldn't I look better? Somewhere in there, I even mention Greta Thunberg coming to straighten things out as if that nitwit knows anything.
Maybe next time I'll fix my hair and put on makeup.
Maybe not.
Reel #1 — Living in War
Filmed so friends abroad could see what life is really like for ordinary people in Israel. Living in war — it just never ends. Sometimes I can’t believe this is my life: a country carrying PTSD, anxiety, and sorrow. With all the hardship and the lies about us… life goes on. We laugh. We love. We keep creating. But deep down, we all share one wish — that it would finally end. These videos were never planned or polished — they were born in the shelters, during sirens and uncertainty. This is Chic Shelter Unfiltered — where humor meets heart, and defiance meets hope.