The trend began about a month ago, after the Jewish Canadian rapper’s new song was released. An Internet comedian posted a dancing video online, and hundreds of others have followed, including many celebrities.But the National Road Safety Authority wasn’t laughing. The authority quickly reached out to Kahlon and requested he remove the video. At first, Kahlon – or an aide – merely added a disclaimer to the clip, writing “filmed in a safe place, don’t take any chances.” But about an hour later the video was pulled entirely.Racheli Tevet-Wizel, CEO of the National Road Safety Authority, said that “in the past two weeks we have seen many videos in the challenge,” she wrote on the authority’s Facebook page on Monday. “Some of them end badly. I call on those with public influence... to serve as an example for youth, and denounce this trend and not encourage it in any way.”Or Yarok (Green Light), the road safety NGO, also denounced Kahlon’s video, writing on Facebook: “from you we expected a better personal example and safer conduct.”Despite many warnings from authorities, the trend has caught on globally.According to Arab News, Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi joked this week that youth taking part in the challenge would help raise fuel costs. But the news site said the Egyptian Interior Ministry has warned that performing the challenge on public roads is illegal and could result in a jail sentence.כחלון ניסה להיות מגניב אבל הצליח לעצבן את הרשות הלאומית לבטיחות בדרכים:״פנינו לאנשיו של שר האוצר משה כחלון וביקשנו להוריד באופן מיידי את הסרטון מכל הפלטפורמות בהן הוא עלה״ @NewsChannelIL pic.twitter.com/oUFkq3h1xa
— Omri Barak (@OmriBarak) July 30, 2018
Last week, Rabbi Yaakov Nachimovsky, the Chabad emissary to Crete, uploaded his own version of the #keke challenge to his wife’s Instagram page, complete with a bekishe (long, black chassidic coat) and black hat. The video – in which Nachimovsky hops out of the car before it starts moving – has been viewed close to 40,000 times online.