‘The One Where They Commit War Crimes’: IDF tweet celebrating Friends sitcom's 25th anniversary

[Dubious]

‘The One Where They Commit War Crimes’: IDF tweet celebrating Friends sitcom's 25th anniversary backfires spectacularly

Published time: 22 Sep, 2019 22:57Edited time: 23 Sep, 2019 09:42
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The Israel Defense Forces tweeted out a video recreating the title sequence of Friends on the sitcom’s 25th anniversary. Judging from social media reactions, even the IDF’s friends thought it was in bad taste.

The video posted on the IDF’s official English language account shows a group of young soldiers in front of a fountain with the title 'IDFriends'.

“Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating... with friends,” the tweet read.

F•R•I•E•N•D•S

Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating...with friends pic.twitter.com/kYsTjAoAAH

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 22, 2019
Whoever is running the Twitter account has surely failed in the art of 'Unagi', as the post mostly attracted unfriendly reactions, many of which were inspired by the sitcom.

"Love the one where Chandler fires white phosphorus into a hospital," responded one user. "The one where Joey snipes a child," another tweeted.

The one where Phoebe shot a schoolgirl at a checkpoint.
The one where Joey fired a rocket into an arab child's head.
The one where Rachel shelled boys playing football on a beach.
The one where Monica bulldozed a village.
The one where Ross dropped white phosphorous on a playpark

— Two Flames (@msjenniferjames) September 22, 2019
"The One Where Rebekah Bulldozes a House" and "The One Where Ross Shoots A Medic And Laughs About It On Tape" were other suggestions.

Great episode, can't wait to rewatch

— The Raging Insomniac (@InsomniaAndPEDs) September 22, 2019
Even those users who seemingly support the IDF commented that it was "tone deaf" and that the military should not do things like that.

I support you but you don't need this. You really don't. Stop. Be soldiers.

— More human than human. (@david_morris47) September 22, 2019
So far it is unclear if IDF will respond to the feedback or if it would just be a "moo point" for them.


https://www.rt.com/news/469368-idf-friends-tweet-reactions/

 

[Dubious]

The One Where the IDF’s ‘Friends’ Tweet Backfires, Exposing the Horrors of Israeli Occupation

Twitter users, both friends and foes alike, were quick to point out that the tweet was less than tasteful.


EMMA FIALA

(TMU) — The Twitter account belonging to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seems bent on improving the image of the state of Israel’s military forces and often goes to inappropriate lengths to do so.
In their latest attempt to make the internet laugh while their forces simultaneously wreak havoc on occupied Palestine, the IDF tweeted out a video coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the American sitcom Friends.

The 15 second tweet, which can be summarized as an epic backfire, shows a group of young and seemingly attractive soldiers happen upon each other in front of a fountain, much like the intro to Friends, which was first broadcast on September 22, 1994.

“Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating… with friends,” the tweet read.


Israel Defense Forces

✔@IDF

F•R•I•E•N•D•S

Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating...with friends

12:33 AM - Sep 23, 2019

The IDF runs a pretty intense marketing campaign—referred to by some as a pure propaganda—that more often than not includes images and videos of mostly female, young and attractive soldiers.

A quick Google image search makes the Israel Defense Forces look a lot more fun than it is deadly and destructive.

https://themindunleashed.com/2019/0...et-backfires-exposing-israeli-occupation.html

 

[Dubious]

'The one where they commit war crimes': Israeli army celebration of Friends anniversary backfires

The New Arab

'The one where they commit war crimes': Israeli army celebration of Friends anniversary backfires
The Israeli Defense Forces celebrated the 25th anniversary of 'Friends' with a Twitter video [Twitter]

Date of publication: 25 September, 2019

From Google to Ralph Lauren, the 25th anniversary of Friends has led many to reminisce about the hit 90s sitcom, especially on the internet.

But not all celebrations sparked friendly reactions.

The Israeli army Twitter account joined the celebrations by posting a video homage on Twitter, which was met with rather unfriendly reactions online.

The video posted on social media starred six soldiers recreating the opening credits in front of a fountain with the iconic theme tune in the backround.

"Our soldiers couldn't think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating... with friends," read a tweet posted on 22 September.

The video featured the show's classic font with the title "IDF.R.I.E.N.D.S" and managed to reach more than two million views in less than one day.

The tweet received ample backlash, however, with users attacking Israel's foreign policy, especially with regards to their aggression towards Palestinians.


Israel Defense Forces

✔@IDF
F•R•I•E•N•D•S
Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating...with friends

5,519
12:33 AM - Sep 23, 2019


Many used the show's classic episode names, 'The one where…', to highlight their anger towards Israeli foreign policy, and abuses of several human rights issues.


Nooruddean

✔@BeardedGenius

“Could we *be* more guilty of war crimes?!” https://twitter.com/idf/status/1175855584018673665 …

Israel Defense Forces

✔@IDF

F•R•I•E•N•D•S

Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating...with friends


1,145
3:47 AM - Sep 23, 2019


"Love the one where Chandler fires white phosphorus into a hospital," responded one user. "The one where Joey snipes a child," another tweeted.

Israel Defense Forces

✔@IDF
· Sep 23, 2019

F•R•I•E•N•D•S
Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating...with friends

Lula is a political prisoner.@AliMortell

The One With The Human Rights Violations


318
2:06 AM - Sep 23, 2019




Israel Defense Forces

✔@IDF
· Sep 23, 2019

F•R•I•E•N•D•S
Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating...with friends

TWOW or we riot@dengxiaoping_

The One Where Ross Drones a UN Refugee Camp

557
1:56 AM - Sep 23, 2019

 

[Dubious]

Others used GIFs of classic Friends scenes to place the characters in fake situations which would mirror actions of the Israeli army.


Israel Defense Forces

✔@IDF
· Sep 23, 2019

F•R•I•E•N•D•S
Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating...with friends

rafael

✔@rafaelshimunov
No you're not OK, Ross, you shot a nurse in the head with a sniper rifle.


271

5:07 AM - Sep 23, 2019

Even supporters of the IDF also joined the criticism of the army's PR approach.



Israel Defense Forces

✔@IDF

· Sep 23, 2019
F•R•I•E•N•D•S
Our soldiers couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate #Friends25 than celebrating...with friends

David.@david_morris47

I support you but you don't need this. You really don't. Stop. Be soldiers.

12:57 AM - Sep 23, 2019


The tweet was part of a PR campaign that involved the IDF recreating significant events or moments such as the classic black-and-white picture of workers eating their lunch atop a construction frame.



rafael

✔@rafaelshimunov


Someone had a marketing meeting about coopting iconic American culture to normalize occupation forces.



32

6:27 PM - Sep 23, 2019





This is not the first time Israel has attracted attention for its Twitter activity. In 2018, the Embassy of Israel replied to a Tweet by Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, using a GIF of the iconic 2004 movie, Mean Girls, which gathered almost 100,000 likes.






Khamenei.ir@khamenei_ir

· Jun 3, 2018

Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. #Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen. 7/31/91#GreatReturnMarch





Embassy of Israel

✔@IsraelinUSA



91.2K

9:11 PM - Jun 4, 2018

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/n...ation-of-friends-anniversary-sparks-criticism