Several Israeli soldiers have been disciplined by the IDF, after viral footage of a rowdy party with an Israeli popstar was posted to social media.
In the clips, which have been viewed millions of times, young men in army uniform can be seen partying with Avihu Pinhasov, a former Israeli Eurovision contestant, stripping him down to his underwear and hoisting him in the bucket of a digger.
According to the Israeli news website Ynet, an army officer invited Pinhasov to perform for his unit as a 'morale boost' as the war drags on across Israel.
Pinhasov told Ynet that the unit's commander told him: "I have a soldier who is number one with us, and he has just got married,'
"He said he was ready to do anything for him. That he would come and get me. I told him I had never done anything like this, but I came. I like going into the unknown, taking risks"
The soldiers can be seen in videos published on Twitter/X cheering for Pinhasov, before he strips down into sparkly underwear and dives into a crowd of male troops.
כמה שאני אוהב אותם שמחים
— אורן חסקי 🇮🇱haski oren (@haski_oren) November 10, 2023
אביהו פנחסוב קורע מצחוק. pic.twitter.com/ZTZ2PAZbdL
Several soldiers can be seen holding their assault weapons during the video, an apparent breach of IDF rules.
According to Israeli media, 15 men were disciplined by the IDF. In a statement, the Israeli army said: "Reservists who rioted and played with weapons were temporarily suspended from operational activity.
"The incident was investigated and a command conversation was held on the subject, during which it was made clear that the conduct was not in line with the values and orders of the IDF.
'Some of the fighters have since returned to their duties. The reserve service of the unit's fighters who played with weapons was stopped immediately"
Despite the punishment for the soldiers, Pinhasov remained defiant, saying: "If the army tells me to stop – I will not stop. I’m with the soldiers, I’ll do what they want.”
Pinhasov is one of a number of Israeli celebrities to visit army bases. Last month, Israeli singer Omer Adam appeared at an army base in the south of the country to perform for soldiers.
