Israeli Army Chef Goes Viral On TikTok With Watermelon Dance Videos‌

Nissim Mizrachi at his army kitchen with a watermelon. IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT.

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For the past few months, army chef Nissim Mizrachi has been posting videos on social media showing himself chopping up watermelons while doing incongruous dance moves.

The 36-year-old chef said he made the videos to help pass the time during his shifts as deputy head chef at the Lion of the Valley (47th) Battalion of the Israel Defense Forces.

“I have no special editing, no professional lighting; I film on my phone in the most spontaneous way there is,” he told the Hebrew language news site Ynet.

Late last month, after weeks and weeks of uploads, one of Mizrachi’s clips suddenly went viral on the TikTok social-media app.

The 20-second video gained over 50 million views within days, while Mizrachi’s TikTok account gained over 200,000 followers practically overnight.

Using a sped-up version of Dead or Alive’s 1985 hit “You Spin Me Round” as background music, Mizrachi is seen in the video passionately slicing a watermelon in his signature fashion.

As a result, dozens of TikTok users around the world have been uploading their own versions of the viral clip, including creators who have millions of followers.

Mizrachi began uploading the videos because the army was providing the kitchen “about 60 watermelons a week,” which he said was a “crazy” amount for one battalion.

But there was another reason, which was “to bring watermelon back to Israel after it became a Palestinian symbol,” he explained.