Taylor Swift Fan Turned Israeli Prisoner and Pro-Palestine Activist

By Alexa Julian
Twitter is an interesting place where one can stumble upon the
craziest stories, but few others are quite like the story of one Taylor
Swift superfan. The account @LegitTayUpdates is run by an
anonymous 19-year-old woman living in south Israel who gives daily
updates on Taylor Swift, that is, until she was imprisoned for two
months for refusing to join Israel’s army.
Israel requires compulsory military service of those 18+ in the
Israel Defense Forces. Citizens may conscientiously object to enlisting,
but in order to be exempt they must describe why in front of a panel of
military officials. @LegitTayUpdates, who also goes by the initial “N,”
was not exempt as they proved she wasn’t a true pacifist since she
claimed she’d punch a Nazi. Therefore, she was sentenced to two
months in prison.
N. refused to enlist as she is very critical of Israel’s leadership
and is pro-Palestine in the enduring Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After
World War II, European nations had promised the Jewish people their
own state and thus the land that was given to them became Israel.
However, this area was already occupied by Arabs who have claimed @LegitTayUpdates on Twitter,
that the land is rightly theirs. These displaced people, who call whose bio includes “Free Palestine
themselves Palestinians, want to reclaim their original borders from :D”. Photo courtesy of Alexa Julian.
Israel. Neither side will compromise, which has caused great conflict.
N. sides with Palestine, wanting them to receive the help needed to
establish themselves as a legitimate and democratic country.
Even while in prison, @LegitTayUpdates never stopped loving Taylor Swift. She said that playing
Taylor songs in her head helped her get through the experience, especially the song “New Romantics” as it’s
extremely positive. She was able to maintain her social media presence through slipping notes to her visiting
friend to post. These notes include things like “I’m still in prison [lol] but I asked a visiting friend to post this:
Can y’all…stop making comments on Taylor’s body…she’ll let us know when/if she’s pregnant. Calm down.”
She told her followers that prison was boring, but she did make a friend who she talked about pop culture and
Taylor with.
N. feels as though Taylor would be proud of her for taking a stand and she continues to use her platform
to spread not only her love for Taylor but her support for Palestinian freedom. Her story is one that is surprising,
but intriguing, to many. One student remarked that “You always think of stan accounts like that as shallow 12-
year-old girls. It’s interesting to see that [N.] is actually politically involved.” Another said, “It’s crazy she still
kept up with the account in prison. Taylor should visit her.” Overall, the story of @LegitTayUpdates is one that
can inspire many, showing that anyone can stand up for what they believe in and stay positive even in the direst
situations.
All information was obtained through www.elle.com.