IDF Tik Tok
Encyclopedia
IDF Tik Tok, originally uploaded to YouTube
as Batallion 50 Rock the Hebron Casbah and posted on Facebook
under the name Rock the Casbah, is a viral
amateur dance video in the flash mob
style produced by soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF).
The video was filmed in 2010 by soldiers serving in the IDF's Nahal Brigade
. It had been viewed more than a 1.6 million times online just days after being uploaded.
in the West Bank
, a tense flash point of sniper, stabbing, and other attacks on Israeli soldiers. The soldiers are walking cautiously down a deserted Jabel Rahma Street, near the Tel Rumeida
site, in the Jewish
section of Hebron, armed and in full combat gear, including bullet-proof vests. The Muslim
call to prayer
can be heard coming from the loudspeaker of a mosque
(all the sound in the video was edited in after the footage was shot).
Suddenly, the voice of American
electropop singer Ke$ha breaks in. She is singing her hit # 1 pop song TiK ToK
: "Tonight I'm gonna fight, Till we see the sunlight, Tick tock on the clock but the party don't stop, no".
With the music, the soldiers abruptly break into choreographed dance moves. The soldiers step in sync and gyrate their hips, somewhat clumsily, with moves more often used to dance to the cult Spanish track "Macarena
", as they spin, twirl, dance, hop, flap their arms like chickens, skip, and dance hand-in-hand in pairs. Then, just as suddenly as they started, the soldiers resume their positions and continue patrolling.
The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that despite the fact that Arab residents of Hebron told reporters that the music the soldiers danced to woke them up at dawn, the video was actually filmed 7 p.m., in the half-light not of dawn but of evening. It was filmed without music, a commander calling out the dance moves. The music was edited in later. And that it was shot in an area that considered free from strife.
The 106-second amateur video was praised for its artistry in "juxtaposing tension and cathartic dance." According to Jerusalem Post columnist Liat Collins, "television stations in countries including Britain, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, the US, India, and Brazil couldn’t resist the temptation to show the clip, and at least one broadcaster declared the soldiers "cute".
i television comedy skit that ran for months on the satirical TV show Eretz Nehederet
. There, two clothes shop salesgirls who are giving begrudging service suddenly go ballistic when shoppers disrupt their folded clothes, and require the offenders to fold with them in moves synchronized to the Tik Tok tune. In the hit TV video, known as hamekaplot ("the folders"), celebrities and politicians are featured as the "violators". Israelis made numerous spoof clips applying the idea to everything from rolling joints to preparing sushi. Peace Now made a version, "starring" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and Defense Minister Ehud Barak
folding T-shirts bearing inscriptions such as "two-state solution
," "civil rights", and "settlement evacuation."
The IDF video also followed several videos posted by soldiers in other armies. They include one showing American soldiers in Afghanistan
dancing to Telephone
by Lady Gaga
, which has been viewed online over five million times. A video of British soldiers and officers in Iraq going about their routine to Madness
’s Must Be Love
is another example. In another video, U.S. Marines in Iraq dance and lip-sync to Haddaway
’s What Is Love? .
Israeli soldiers have produced and posted numerous comedy videos, in addition to several videos of Israeli soldiers in uniform dancing and singing. The lighthearted genre includes video of uniformed tank
mechanics "busting a move" on a sidewalk, in which three soldiers lip sync
to The Tokens
' recording of The Lion Sleeps Tonight
, and another in which a group of Israeli female soldiers dance to Avril Lavigne
singing Girlfriend
.
The video received numerous reactions in the world media, most of them humorous. British news anchors laughed, and the Telegraph newspaper lauded the "baddest dudes and grooviest chicks" of the IDF. The Irish Independent
called the choreography "brilliant".
The Hong Kong newspaper The Standard
noted that the troop which had turned into a troupe had shown off "daring maneuvers", which "appeared to indicate they had undergone some sort of special training". France 24
opined that the soldiers may have to "face the music". The British newspaper Daily Mail
joked that the soldiers' next performance could be Jailhouse Rock
.
Haaretz
reported that the soldiers involved "could face disciplinary action." Agence France-Presse
reported that the soldiers were likely to be "punished" for "inappropriate conduct during a military operation."
The soldier who uploaded the video removed it from YouTube. But it had already spread across the Web
, and was quickly reposted on YouTube, Facebook and other web sites. Political science professor Gerald M. Steinberg
commented: "We're talking about 18- or 19-year-old kids in an unimaginably stressful environment. They are trying to lighten up."
There were calls by some for the soldiers to be punished harshly on the grounds that the video hurts the IDF's image. But others called it a "funny" sketch made by 18-year-old youths. According to reporter Dominic Waghorn of Sky News
, official reaction to similar IDF videos in the past had "ranged from a threat of disciplinary action to a shrug. Military life can be boring, they've got phones, they listen to music."
The two sergeants who were the squad commanders of the patrol were punished. They were ordered to participate in an IDF educational military film geared to preventing such videos being created in the future, which will explain why doing filmography and dancing is forbidden in time of operation. Their educational video is to be screened in IDF units. The other "dancers" from Battalion 50 were already on vacation leave, as they were due to be released from the military in a few days.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
as Batallion 50 Rock the Hebron Casbah and posted on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
under the name Rock the Casbah, is a viral
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
amateur dance video in the flash mob
Flash mob
A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression...
style produced by soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
(IDF).
The video was filmed in 2010 by soldiers serving in the IDF's Nahal Brigade
Nahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
. It had been viewed more than a 1.6 million times online just days after being uploaded.
Video
The video opens with six infantry soldiers from the Hod platoon of the Nahal Brigade's 50th Airborne Battalion on foot patrol. They are in a two-by-three formation in HebronHebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, a tense flash point of sniper, stabbing, and other attacks on Israeli soldiers. The soldiers are walking cautiously down a deserted Jabel Rahma Street, near the Tel Rumeida
Tel Rumeida
Tel Rumeida is a tell most identified as the location of biblical Hebron. Today, it is the site of a Jewish Israeli settlement. The most famous resident is Baruch Marzel, a rightist activist and head of the Jewish National Front, who lives there with his family...
site, in the Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
section of Hebron, armed and in full combat gear, including bullet-proof vests. The Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
call to prayer
Adhan
The adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is meaning "to permit"; another derivative of this word is , meaning "ear"....
can be heard coming from the loudspeaker of a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
(all the sound in the video was edited in after the footage was shot).
Suddenly, the voice of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
electropop singer Ke$ha breaks in. She is singing her hit # 1 pop song TiK ToK
TiK ToK
"Tik Tok" is the debut single by American recording artist Kesha. The song was produced by Benny Blanco and Dr. Luke and co-written by Blanco, Dr. Luke and Kesha. It was released on August 7, 2009 as the lead single from Kesha's debut studio album, Animal...
: "Tonight I'm gonna fight, Till we see the sunlight, Tick tock on the clock but the party don't stop, no".
With the music, the soldiers abruptly break into choreographed dance moves. The soldiers step in sync and gyrate their hips, somewhat clumsily, with moves more often used to dance to the cult Spanish track "Macarena
Macarena (song)
"Macarena" is a Spanish dance song by Los del Río about a woman of the same name. Appearing on the 1994 album A mí me gusta, it was an international hit between 1995 and 1996, and continues to have a cult following. It was ranked the "#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time" by VH1 in 2002.The song...
", as they spin, twirl, dance, hop, flap their arms like chickens, skip, and dance hand-in-hand in pairs. Then, just as suddenly as they started, the soldiers resume their positions and continue patrolling.
The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that despite the fact that Arab residents of Hebron told reporters that the music the soldiers danced to woke them up at dawn, the video was actually filmed 7 p.m., in the half-light not of dawn but of evening. It was filmed without music, a commander calling out the dance moves. The music was edited in later. And that it was shot in an area that considered free from strife.
The 106-second amateur video was praised for its artistry in "juxtaposing tension and cathartic dance." According to Jerusalem Post columnist Liat Collins, "television stations in countries including Britain, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, the US, India, and Brazil couldn’t resist the temptation to show the clip, and at least one broadcaster declared the soldiers "cute".
Other videos
The video is a spoof on a long-viral IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i television comedy skit that ran for months on the satirical TV show Eretz Nehederet
Eretz Nehederet
Eretz Nehederet is a satirical Israeli television show, which made its debut on November 7, 2003. It features satirical references to current affairs of the past week through parodies of the people involved, as well as the thoughts of recurring characters. The program is one of the most watched...
. There, two clothes shop salesgirls who are giving begrudging service suddenly go ballistic when shoppers disrupt their folded clothes, and require the offenders to fold with them in moves synchronized to the Tik Tok tune. In the hit TV video, known as hamekaplot ("the folders"), celebrities and politicians are featured as the "violators". Israelis made numerous spoof clips applying the idea to everything from rolling joints to preparing sushi. Peace Now made a version, "starring" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
and Defense Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
folding T-shirts bearing inscriptions such as "two-state solution
Two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007...
," "civil rights", and "settlement evacuation."
The IDF video also followed several videos posted by soldiers in other armies. They include one showing American soldiers in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
dancing to Telephone
Telephone (song)
"Telephone" is a song written and performed by Lady Gaga. It was released from her third extended play and second major release The Fame Monster . The song, featuring American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles, was written by Gaga and Rodney Jerkins...
by Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, which has been viewed online over five million times. A video of British soldiers and officers in Iraq going about their routine to Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
’s Must Be Love
Must Be Love
"Must Be Love" is a song by American recording artist Cassie.-Background:The song was produced by Mario Winans. It was originally meant to be a track on the album of fellow Bad Boy recording artists Day26. It was recorded by Cassie in early 2009. Footage showing the finalization of the track can be...
is another example. In another video, U.S. Marines in Iraq dance and lip-sync to Haddaway
Haddaway
Nestor Alexander Haddaway , better known by his stage name Haddaway, is a Trinidadian-German singer. He is most famous for his worldwide 1993 hit, "What Is Love".- Early life :...
’s What Is Love? .
Israeli soldiers have produced and posted numerous comedy videos, in addition to several videos of Israeli soldiers in uniform dancing and singing. The lighthearted genre includes video of uniformed tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
mechanics "busting a move" on a sidewalk, in which three soldiers lip sync
Lip sync
Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
to The Tokens
The Tokens
The Tokens are an American male doo-wop-style vocal group from Brooklyn, New York. They are known best for their chart-scoring 1961 single, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" .-Career:...
' recording of The Lion Sleeps Tonight
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight", also known as "Wimoweh" and originally as "Mbube", is a song recorded by Solomon Linda and his group The Evening Birds for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. It was covered internationally by many 1950s pop and folk revival artists, including The Weavers,...
, and another in which a group of Israeli female soldiers dance to Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
singing Girlfriend
Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne song)
"Girlfriend" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The song was written by Lavigne with her producer Dr. Luke for Lavigne's third studio album, The Best Damn Thing . "Girlfriend" was released as the lead single from The Best Damn Thing on 27 February 2007...
.
Controversy
The IDF released a statement which read: "This was a joke by the soldiers, and the matter is currently being investigated by the battalion commanders."The video received numerous reactions in the world media, most of them humorous. British news anchors laughed, and the Telegraph newspaper lauded the "baddest dudes and grooviest chicks" of the IDF. The Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
called the choreography "brilliant".
The Hong Kong newspaper The Standard
The Standard
The Standard is an English free newspaper of Hong Kong with a daily circulation of 231,018. It was called the Hong Kong Standard and changed to HKiMail during the Internet boom, but it changed back to The Standard in 2001....
noted that the troop which had turned into a troupe had shown off "daring maneuvers", which "appeared to indicate they had undergone some sort of special training". France 24
France 24
France 24 is an international news and current affairs television channel. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to BBC World News, DW-TV, NHK World and RT, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the channel started broadcasting through...
opined that the soldiers may have to "face the music". The British newspaper Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
joked that the soldiers' next performance could be Jailhouse Rock
Jailhouse Rock (song)
"Jailhouse Rock" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that first became a hit for Elvis Presley. The song was released as a 45rpm single on September 24, 1957, to coincide with the release of Presley's motion picture, Jailhouse Rock...
.
Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
reported that the soldiers involved "could face disciplinary action." Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
reported that the soldiers were likely to be "punished" for "inappropriate conduct during a military operation."
The soldier who uploaded the video removed it from YouTube. But it had already spread across the Web
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and was quickly reposted on YouTube, Facebook and other web sites. Political science professor Gerald M. Steinberg
Gerald M. Steinberg
Gerald M. Steinberg is an Israeli academic and political scientist.-Biography:Gerald M. Steinberg obtained his doctorate in government from Cornell University, in 1981. M.A. Government Department, Cornell University, 1978. M.Sc. Physics Department, University of California, San Diego, 1975. B.A...
commented: "We're talking about 18- or 19-year-old kids in an unimaginably stressful environment. They are trying to lighten up."
There were calls by some for the soldiers to be punished harshly on the grounds that the video hurts the IDF's image. But others called it a "funny" sketch made by 18-year-old youths. According to reporter Dominic Waghorn of Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
, official reaction to similar IDF videos in the past had "ranged from a threat of disciplinary action to a shrug. Military life can be boring, they've got phones, they listen to music."
The two sergeants who were the squad commanders of the patrol were punished. They were ordered to participate in an IDF educational military film geared to preventing such videos being created in the future, which will explain why doing filmography and dancing is forbidden in time of operation. Their educational video is to be screened in IDF units. The other "dancers" from Battalion 50 were already on vacation leave, as they were due to be released from the military in a few days.