Israeli pop star Noa Kirel in a 2019 music video. (YouTube screenshot)
JTA — The Israeli teen pop star Noa Kirel is a soldier now.
Kirel, who joined the Israeli army on Sunday, became a viral hit on YouTube in 2015 and has gone on to star in Israeli movies and television series.
She will serve in the orchestra corps, which performs in parades, official military and state ceremonies, graduation courses and to entertain troops. Kirel will have her own band rather than join an already established army band.
Several Israeli stars in recent years have evaded being drafted into the Israeli military, most notably model Bar Refaeli, who married a family friend in order to avoid service.
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Kirel said she is looking forward to performing for the soldiers.
“It is a crazy and a huge privilege,” she told Israel’s Channel 12 news.
The Israel Defense Forces has had to establish special guidelines in dealing with the star, including forbidding fellow soldiers from taking selfies with her or photographing her on the base, Channel 12 reported.
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She later posted a photo of herself on Instagram in her uniform.
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