Fact Check: Israeli soldiers celebrate rape case acquittal? No, video shows popstar’s wild performance
Video of Israeli soldiers cheering and singing has gone viral as celebrations for their peers acquitted in a rape case.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 7 Jan 2025 7:56 PM IST
Claim: The video shows Israeli soldiers celebrating after nine soldiers were acquitted of sexually assaulting Palestinians in a detention centre.
Fact: The claim is false. The video is from a 2023 performance by Avihu Pinhasov at an Israeli Army base and has no connection to the alleged incident.
Hyderabad: Reports of violence and humanitarian crises from Gaza have continued from 2024 into the new year.
The United Nations’ World Food Programme and the UNRWA condemned an Israeli attack on a clearly marked aid convoy in central Gaza. Recent strikes in densely populated areas have resulted in 49 Palestinian deaths in 24 hours.
Amid these developments, a video has gone viral claiming to show Israeli soldiers celebrating the acquittal of nine soldiers accused of raping Palestinians in detention.
An X user shared the video with the caption, “Do you know what this celebration was for? ISRAEL released 9 soldier who raped PAIESTlNlAN hostages in detention centre... This is what western media hides from you! (sic)” (Archive)
The 30-second clip shows shirtless men in military pants celebrating by dancing and waving rifles. The caption reads, “Mossad chief just got back to the office.” It was initially posted by an Open Source Intel account.
Similar posts can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is old and shows a public performance by Israeli singer Avihu Pinhasov at a military base.
Avihu Pinhasov is an Israeli singer, musician, and actor, renowned as the lead of Avihu Pinhasov’s Rhythm Club, a band known for blending Mizrahi music, rock, Greek music and 1960s club music. The band has gained popularity in Israel for its lively performances and unique style.
A reverse image search of the viral video led to a YouTube upload by The Telegraph titled ‘Gun-waving Israeli soldiers strip pop star to sequinned briefs in ‘insane’ concert’ dated November 17, 2023. Clips of the pop star and his performance among the troops were also in the viral video.
A one-minute YouTube video is an extended version of a viral clip showing shirtless Israeli soldiers brandishing rifles during an ‘outrageous’ concert at an army base. The video report stated that the soldiers were disciplined for participating in the event, where pop star Avihu Pinhasov stripped down to sequined underwear and rode in a bulldozer bucket.
According to the report, several Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservists stationed at a northern Israeli outpost were suspended for their rowdy behaviour during the morale-boosting performance by Pinhasov.
The footage showed the soldiers cheering for Pinhasov while waving their rifles, a scene that reportedly bemused senior commanders. The situation was further criticised due to claims of significant alcohol consumption during the event.
We also found a report by The Jewish Chronicle titled ‘Israeli soldiers disciplined after out-of-control party with popstar,’ published on November 17, 2023, about the same event.
Screenshots from the viral video were in the report. According to the Israeli news website Ynet, an Army officer invited Avihu Pinhasov to perform for his unit as a ‘morale boost’ amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas. The JC report listed videos posted on X where soldiers can be seen cheering for Pinhasov, ‘before he strips down into sparkly underwear and dives into a crowd of male troops.’
The report also stated that, according to Israeli media, 15 soldiers were disciplined by the IDF. In a statement, the Israeli Army confirmed, “Reservists who engaged in unruly behaviour and mishandled weapons were temporarily suspended from operational duties.”
We also found an X post on November 17, 2023, which shared the extended version of the video with the caption, “How much I love them, they are happy. Avihu Pinhasov bursts into laughter.” (Translated from Hebrew).
Therefore, the viral claim that Israeli soldiers were seen celebrating the acquittal of nine soldiers accused of sexually assaulting Palestinians is false. The video shows a musical performance by Avihu Pinhasov at an Israeli military base in 2023 which turned boisterous. The claim is false.
