Israeli army chef goes viral on TikTok with watermelon dance videos

In recent months, army chef Nissim Mizrachi has posted videos on social media showing himself chopping watermelons and performing strange dance moves.

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

“I don’t use any special editing or professional lighting. I film with my phone in the most spontaneous way possible,” he told the Hebrew-language news site Ynet.

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

The 20-second video was viewed over 50 million times within days, while Mizrachi’s TikTok account gained over 200,000 followers virtually overnight.

The video sees Mizrachi passionately slicing a watermelon in his signature style, with a sped-up version of Dead or Alive’s hit “You Spin Me Round” used as background music.

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

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

But there was another reason, namely “to bring the watermelon back to Israel after it had become a Palestinian symbol,” he explained.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, the image of the fruit has been used by activists as a symbol of Palestinian nationalism because they associate the colors of the watermelon with those of the Palestinian Authority flag.

It is unclear whether Mizrachi’s followers and those who copy his videos understand the context of his content. His videos are not subtitled and he does not speak in them.

“I stay out of politics. I just want the hostages to return home. That is the most important thing in the world,” he told Israel Hayom.

He added, however, that “Free Palestine” comments occasionally appear under his posted videos, from activists who mistakenly believe he is making a pro-Palestinian statement by using watermelons.

With watermelon season almost over, Mizrachi said he is working on “a new dance with a new fruit.”

He admits that despite millions of views, he doesn’t make any money from social media.

“I didn’t get a shekel from TikTok; there is no such thing in Israel,” he said.

Mizrachi’s goal is to be promoted from deputy to head chef of his kitchen. “TikTok is not going to give me a pension,” he added.

Produced in collaboration with ISRAEL21c