Be like Bilal
IDF presents: 'Bilal doesn't kill people with a knife. Be like Bilal'
IDF Spokesman's office in its own take on 'Be like Bill' online meme seeks to appeal to Arabic speakers and dissuade them from committing terror attacks.
The IDF Spokesman's Unit is trying a new approach to dissuade Palestinian youth from committing terror attacks against Israel - using an internet meme.
The "Be like Bill" meme is an exploitable stick figure illustration of a man called "Bill" who is using a desktop computer, accompanied by a parable praising Bill's choice to simply carry on after being provoked by a trigger while browsing the web.
Versions of this meme have appeared in many other languages, with "Bill" sometimes replaced by localized names like "Yosef" in Israel or "Jose" in Spanish-speaking countries, and offering tips on smart behavior.
"Bill is on the internet. Bill sees something that offends him. Bill moves on. Bill is smart. Be like Bill."
The IDF created an Arabic language version of Bill called Bilal.
"This is Bilal. Bilal bought a knife. Bilal doesn't kill people with the knife. Bilal bought the knife for his father the cook. Bilal is not a terrorist. Bilal is smart. Be Bilal," says a graphic in Arabic showing the stick-figure Bilal smiling with a chef's hat on his head.
Capt. Avichai Adraee, the IDF's Arabic-speaking spokesman, seeks to use the "Be like Bill" trend to take advantage of the cynical social criticism it offers to appeal to the 850,000 Arabic-speaking followers the unit has on Facebook.
"Those who live in a civilized world and a civilized society don't need this sentence. But unfortunately, we see people around us who use household items for murder and terrorism," Capt. Adraee wrote.
He urged the Palestinians to "oppose incitement, murder, and terrorism, and protect yourself."
The post garnered thousands of likes and hundreds of shares, but also a lot of abuse in comments from Palestinians. "This is Avichai. Avichai stole a country from its owners. Avichai kills people with many weapons. Avichai is an occupier. Don't be like Avichai, and get out of our country," one of the commenters wrote.
