---
aliases:
- Shimshon Shtrang
- Shipi Shtrang
- Shipi
category: Psychics & Remote Viewers
created: 2026-05-15
summary: Shimshon 'Shipi' Shtrang is Uri Geller's long-time friend, assistant, and
  brother-in-law who accompanied Geller to Stanford Research Institute for CIA-funded
  testing in the early 1970s, where the CIA excluded him from experiments after magician
  James Randi raised questions about potential collusion.
tags:
- Person
- PSI
- UriGeller
- SRI
- CIA
- 1970s
title: Shimshon Shtrang
updated: 2026-05-17
---

Shimshon "Shipi" Shtrang is best known as the long-time friend and assistant of the [Israeli](/places/israel/) psychic [Uri Geller](/people/uri-geller/). Their association began when Shtrang was a thirteen-year-old boy at a government-run summer camp, where Geller, recovering from [Six-Day War](/events/six-day-war/) injuries, performed [telepathy](/concepts/telepathy/) demonstrations[^1].

Shtrang was mesmerized by Geller's abilities and asked if he had any other tricks. Geller insisted they were real and showed Shipi how he could bend a metal spoon by concentrating and saying, "Bend, bend, bend." This early exposure led to Geller's first paid appearance at Shipi's middle school, marking the beginning of Geller's public career[^1].

As Geller's career progressed, Shtrang became his assistant, often participating in his demonstrations. During Geller's testing at [Stanford Research Institute](/organizations/stanford-research-institute/) (SRI) by the [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/), Shtrang was part of Geller's entourage. However, when the magician [James Randi](/people/james-randi/) speculated that Shtrang helped Geller cheat, the [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) denied Shtrang access to Geller during the experiments to ensure stricter controls[^1].

Shtrang continues to live on the compound of Geller's home in Sonning-on-Thames, England, and later in Jaffa, Israel, along with Geller's wife, Hanna (who is Shipi's sister). He has been Geller's friend and assistant for forty-eight years[^1].

[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.