A TikTok by an Israeli soldier about missing her boyfriend, who is also a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), is drawing scathing criticism and mockery in the midst of the nation’s brutal war in Palestine, where the IDF has been accused of war crimes and atrocities.
Some posters are even comparing the TikTok to The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 movie about the family life of Rudolf Höss, the Nazi commandant who lived with his wife and children right outside the walls of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
“the zone of pinterest,” riffed @pderevere in response to an X post calling the TikTok “one of the most evil things ive seen in a [minute].”
The TikToker, Golda Daphna, who goes by gold.a.star on the site, also blogs for the Times of Israel, where she’s written about growing up in the U.S. and attending Columbia University.
Daphna recently went viral for bragging about receiving a degree from the “most antisemitic” university in America.
The TikTok, which Daphna posted last Friday, is set to “Casual” by Chappel Roan, a song where the singer plaintively mocks a lover who insists their relationship is casual while they do things like visiting each other’s parents and leaving clothes at each other’s homes.
Daphna’s slideshow opens with her posing with her boyfriend, whose face is obscured. It’s captioned “casual things my man and I did before we started dating” before cutting to a wall of text reading “there is no casual in war.”
“We met when he left a literal battlefield,” Daphna explains in the text. “On our third date he had a call to go on a mission. I began to cry and he kissed my forehead. I was his girlfriend a week later.”
Daphna goes on to explain that they told each other they loved each other three weeks later, and that they met each other’s friends soon after.
“When I got out of basic training for the weekend he drove out of Rafah at 4 am to hug me to sleep. He’s never made an excuse not to be there for me,” she added.
That last comment in particular raised eyebrows from viewers.
“‘He drove out of Rafah at 4am to hug me to sleep’ ok well what was he doing there….” asked one person.
“aww so cute! what were you guys doing in rafah btw?” asked another.
“You are the horrifying aspect of the zone of interest” commented another more directly.
“Hugging his gf to sleep after burying the people of rafah under rubble😵💫” commented another poster.
“it’s unbelievable,” one person replied.
Amnesty International has documented multiple reports of tank shelling and air strikes on civilians in Rafah, which have killed dozens. Rafah was originally designated a safe zone for Palestinian civilians to take refuge.
Since posting the TikTok, Daphna shared other videos of herself in military uniforms walking near barbed wire fences, as well as cryptic messages about going through a bad time.
It may seem that there is, in fact, casual in war.
In one post from Wednesday, titled “A Life Update,” she talks in general terms emotionally without specifying exactly what she’s talking about.
@gold.a.star I’d honestly delete this app but I have so many drafts. Take care guys 💕 It’s okay to not be okay
♬ original sound – The Gold Life
“I messed up, I was stupid, and suddenly everything was gone,” she said at one point, adding that “sometimes we feel like we’ve ruined everything and nothing will be ok.”
“It’s okay to be a human being sometimes,” she added, “but the right people will stick by you no matter what.”
“idk if this is about ur relationship or not but a real partner will accept you even when you fall and mess up. it might be painful but u work thru it together. keep that in mind” commented one poster.
“Relationships are built on forgiveness” Daphna replied.
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