Nomi Shira

Written after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023

Hitler didn’t ask if I wore a denim skirt.

Hitler didn’t ask if I kept Shabbos,

Hitler didn’t ask if I wore a white shirt.

Hitler didn’t ask what brand my shoes are,

Hitler didn’t ask if I got a new dress for chag,

Hitler didn’t ask if I used a secondhand store,

Hitler didn’t ask if I used a lace top wig.

Hitler didn’t ask how big my house was,

Hitler didn’t ask for my family’s yichus.

Hitler didn’t ask if I used the right brands,

Hitler didn’t ask if I re-did my house.

Hitler didn’t ask where I went on vacation,

Hitler didn’t ask if I know the right people.

Hitler didn’t ask if I wear the right clothes,

Hitler didn’t ask if I was part of the right clique,

Hitler didn’t ask if spoke to the right people.

Hitler didn’t ask how fancy my wedding was,

Hitler didn’t ask if my makeup was flawless,

Hitler didn’t ask how much my bank account held,

Hitler didn’t ask where I stand in the community.

Hitler simply asked – if I am a Jew.

– Nomi Shira,

A Jew.

PS: Hamas doesn’t ask either.

P.P.S: In the concentration camps, we all looked the same.