The Aguda - Israel’s LGBT Task Force: Photobombing Youtube

The LGBT Israel Task Force (‘The Aguda’) and renowned Israeli composer and song writer Doron Medalie are launching together with Google a very unusual Youtube experience. An experience that effectively turns pre-roll ads to any of Medalie’s many hits into a waiting room where people wanting to listen to his songs will have to patiently wait while listening to a series of interviews. Although unknown to the world until his breakout Eurovision winning international hit ‘TOY’ performed by Neta Barzilay, Doron Medalie is in fact one of Israel’s most prolific song writers. With over 50 hit songs in his repertoire, ‘Acum’ (Israeli music’s copyright organization) estimates that in 2018, no less than 10 hit songs written and composed by Medalie are played at any given wedding in Israel. Songs like "Tel Aviv", "Revolution of Joy," "Just Want to Dance," "Caramel, "Golden Boy” (Eurovision 2016) and many more. But the irony is that while many of Medalie’s songs are used to celebrate weddings, he himself can only be a guest at those weddings as gays don’t have the right to marry in Israel. That’s why, as an outspoken member of the LGBT community, Doron decided to do something about it and ‘photobomb’ his own YouTube hits to get his message out to the public. To do that, Medalie created a virtual waiting room on YouTube which is in fact a two and a half (!!!) hour long pre-roll ad that will be activated every time someone plays one of Medalie’s songs. A waiting room where viewers will be invited to join Medalie as he talks to friends and guests about the subject of LGBT rights until they are granted to him and others like him by law. Among the guests hosted in Medalie’s antechamber are some of the country’s leading music stars like Noa Kirl, Eliad Nahum, Stephan, Nikki Goldstein, Gal Ochovsky and many other artists and celebrities as well as representatives of the various bodies that are taking part in the LGBT community’s struggle, like the members of the parents of gay children organization ‘Tehila’, youngsters belonging to ‘IGY’ (The Israeli Gay Youth organization) and other activists outraged by the injustice carried out against the LGBT community who cannot marry, adopt or use surrogates to become parents in Israel.