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Tsahi Shemesh

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Jul 2, 2026, 10:59 PM

America, Social Media, & the Mouse Utopia Problem

I teach self-defense for a living, so I have learned to pay attention before a threat becomes obvious. A good decision usually starts before the punch is thrown. You notice behavior, timing, distance, distraction, and opportunity. You act early...

Jun 25, 2026, 8:57 PM

The Blind Spot of the ‘Moral’ Movement

There is a film from 1995 called The Last Supper. It is a dark comedy, almost too strange to explain without making it sound ridiculous. A group of liberal graduate students invite people they consider dangerous, hateful, or bigoted...

Jun 22, 2026, 7:52 PM

What It Means to Be a Jewish Father

My children call me “Aba.” I have been given several other names that carried weight, including soldier, instructor, and business owner. Each came with duties I understood and accepted. Fatherhood arrived without instructions and asked more of me than...

Jun 14, 2026, 4:54 AM

The Burden of Jewish Morality

A man is attacked in a parking garage at night. He has under a second to read intent, distance, and the possibility of a weapon. His heart rate climbs past 150 and his fine motor skills begin to fail....

Jun 10, 2026, 8:15 PM

Stop Explaining to People Who Already Convicted Us

For decades, Israel and the Jewish people have run the same failed play. We explained ourselves to people who had already decided we were guilty. We produced the documents, the maps, the timelines, the legal opinions, the carefully worded...

Jun 4, 2026, 7:33 AM

Why Israeli and American Veterans Differ

Someone wished me a happy Memorial Day last week. A decent person. No bad intent. I smiled and said thank you, and something moved in me that I have been sitting with ever since. In Israel, where I grew up...

May 25, 2026, 7:38 PM

When the Verdict Arrives Before the Evidence

In 1973, a psychologist named David Rosenhan sent eight ordinary people into psychiatric hospitals. Each one claimed to hear a single word repeating in their head: “thud.” That was the only symptom. All eight were admitted. Once inside, they...

May 24, 2026, 6:20 PM

Courage Is What Remains When Comfort Stops Leading

As a Krav Maga instructor, people often ask me about courage. The older I get, the less I think courage has anything to do with fearlessness. People misunderstand courage because they imagine it as a feeling. They imagine strong people...

May 22, 2026, 5:47 PM

How Societies Learn to Accept the Unacceptable

A frog dropped into boiling water jumps immediately. A frog placed in cold water that heats slowly does not recognize the danger in the same way. The change feels gradual. Adaptable. Manageable. By the time the water becomes lethal, the...

May 19, 2026, 12:06 AM

The Acceptable Jew

There is a specific kind of exhaustion that comes from watching people who share your history work hard to be the exception. To be invited to the right gatherings. To be photographed at the right protests. To signal, with...

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About Me

Tsahi Shemesh is an Israeli-American IDF veteran and the founder of Krav Maga Experts in NYC. A father and educator, he writes about Jewish identity, resilience, moral courage, and the ethics of strength in a time of rising antisemitism.

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