When bomb shelters become love nests: Some Israelis are using the war for pickup lines
Even as posters of kidnapped children hang around Tel Aviv, people have returned to bars and nightlife — and dating. Courtesy of Getty Images
By Mira Fox November 6, 2023
Rockets are falling in Israel, but birthrates may soon be rising — at least if the playboys in Israel have anything to say about it.
A video from @olim.in.tlv shows screenshots of people using their mamad — the reinforced room in many, but not all, Israeli buildings — as a pickup line.
“Mami, my bedroom is in the mamad. If u don’t feel safe, come to me,” generously offers one message.
“Can I take your mamad virginity?” poses another.
Enterprising playboys have always been able to turn lemons into lemonade. During World War I soldiers in France used the catch-phrase “Voulez-vous couchez avec moi, ce soir?” which has become the basis for a number of songs. Wartime or no, the young soldiers are going to make some time to get some, uh, stress relief.
Israelis are no exception. Some people are leaping to get married, while others are leaping into bed. Perhaps it’s that anyone living in the Middle East is used to chaos, so it doesn’t bring down their libido. Maybe it’s the “now or never” feeling of war — if you could get hit by a rocket or called into battle in any moment, at least you can have a torrid romance first.
When I was in Israel in August — before war broke out, but during Israel’s tense protest movement — I joined various protest groups to get information. The result was, as expected, messages about Netanyahu’s latest misdeeds in the eyes of protestors, and the locations for various demonstrations. But I also got a few messages from men who were apparently just perusing photos of members in the WhatsApp groups to find potential lovers.
“You look amazing,” read one of the more persistent, whose profile says his name is Nati. Though I’ve never answered any of his messages, he has continued to check in every week or two, including to check whether I was alive after Oct. 7. After all, what is a terrorist attack if not another opportunity to hit up your newest romantic interest?
This is far from the only lustful trend going on. Reservists in the IDF, called into duty, have been growing mustaches as a sign of unity — since well before No-Shave November began — and leveraging them for thirst traps, to the delight of many online who are posting comments below the videos. Pro-Israel accounts are helping them along, posting about which army has the hotter soldiers.
It may seem tasteless to leverage the terror of entire populations, both Israel’s and Gaza’s, for sex appeal, or debate things like whether Israel’s soldiers are more attractive than Hamas’. Indeed, it probably is tasteless. But on the other hand, people living through war need moments of lightness, and there’s nothing as distracting as love — or, at least, sex.
After all, what good is a mamad if you’re in there alone?
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