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This is my YouTube video about Shani Louk. It’s the best performing video on my channel, with 42K views. I can only guess why that is. Is it because of the horrific footage and the famous, prize-winning (yes!) photo of the abuse and abduction of her lifeless body? Is it because of her arresting looks? Is it because of the universally terrifying idea of going to a hippy music festival and being brutally murdered by rabid terrorists? It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t monetize my content. All I want is for people to watch, or read, and know what we went through.

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This beautiful, free spirit is Shani Louk. She is 22 years old and will stay 22 years old forever. She will not grow up, have children and experience everything life has to offer. Shani Louk was murdered on October 7, 2023, at the hands of crazed, bloodthirsty Hamas terrorists.

Shani was born on February 7, 2001, to an Israeli father and a German mother. The family lived in Israel, but often visited Shani’s grandparents in Germany. They lived for several years in Portland, Oregon, but eventually moved back to Israel.

Shani was artistic and loved travelling. She became a tattoo artist and travelled the world with her Mexican boyfriend, Orión Hernández Radoux. She was a convinced pacifist and refused to serve in the Israeli army. She was also very active on social media and had a lot of followers. Her instagram, which was full of ethereal photos of her, had more than 13,000 followers.

Shani lived in Tel Aviv and often went to raves and dance parties. On October 7, she and her boyfriend Orión were at the Supernova festival. There are several photos and videos of them dancing, laughing and having a great time.

Until all hell broke loose and many hundreds of Hamas terrorists flooded the party in a frenzied killing spree, hunting people down, bullets flying everywhere. Shani called friends on her phone, telling them to flee. She also called her mother, saying that she was trying to get to her car, to hide from the terrorists. After that, her phone went silent.

Hours later, the livestream of the terrorists’ video cameras showed a naked, seemingly unconscious woman in the bed of a pick-up truck, being paraded through the streets of Gaza City. Shani’s friends and family recognized the distinct tattoos and the long dreadlocks, and realized with horror that this was Shani Louk. They had to watch helplessly as terrorists spat on her, pulled her hair and screamed “Allahu akhbar!!”. There are stills from this footage, but I am not going to show them, as they are too shocking. The footage and the stills are easy to find on the internet, for whoever wants to see the full horror of what Hamas did to Shani Louk.

Initially, it was thought that Shani was still alive, that she had been taken hostage. But on October 30, almost a month after the attack, part of Shani’s skull was found at the site of the festival. A vital part, without which she could not possibly live. All hope was gone for Shani’s family. Although they did not have her body, they had to accept that she was dead. “It was like being kicked in the head,” Shani’s brother said.

Because part of her skull was found, rumours circulated on the internet that Shani had been beheaded. But it is more likely that she was shot in the head and died instantly. Fortunately, she escaped the fate of other women, who were gangraped, tortured and beheaded. Her family takes some comfort in the idea that she did not suffer.

And what about Shani’s boyfriend, Orión Hernández Radoux? Orión holds both Mexican and French nationality. He is not an Israeli, he came to Israel as a tourist, to be with Shani. He is 31 years old and has a little daughter. According to his friends, he is a man of music and festivals, of love and family, adventure and peace. Orión has been missing since the attack. There has been no news of him whatsoever. His body was not found, so he is presumed to be a hostage. But there is no evidence that he is alive.

However, after the 7th of October, a series of chilling messages were sent from his phone. It seems that Hamas terrorists got hold of his phone and used it to send messages in Arabic to his contacts. “I spit on you,” they read, “God damn you.” And “Liberate Palestine”, “kill the Zionists”. That is Hamas’ message to the world. Very sophisticated.

As I am writing this, the IDF is pushing into Gaza, searching for the hostages. I hope and pray that Orión will be found, alive, with the others. And that he is ok. But even if he is, he will be traumatized forever. I’m so sorry, Orión, that this had to happen to you.

#bringthemhome