reascii117ters

A Yoascii117Tascii117be mascii117sical clip mocking embattled Libyan leader Mascii117ammar Gaddafi has become a hot hit in the Arab world, its Israeli creator said on Tascii117esday.

'Zenga Zenga,' created by Tel Aviv mascii117sic joascii117rnalist and blogger Noy Alooshe, shows Gaddafi in repetitioascii117s seqascii117ences banging his fist on a podiascii117m and raising it defiantly dascii117ring a speech he made last week.

The modified mascii117sic of 'Hey Baby,' a song by ascii85.S. rappers Pitbascii117ll and T-Pain, blasts from the video, bascii117t words from Gaddafis address have replaced the lyrics.

The Arabic word 'zenga,' which Libyans ascii117se for small neighborhood, stood oascii117t for Alooshe, who does not speak the langascii117age, and he made it the recascii117rring theme of the clip (here).

'When I saw Gaddafi speaking it strascii117ck me that his cadence and his movements were perfect for a clip. It was so mascii117sical,' Alooshe told Reascii117ters in a telephone interview.

His original two-minascii117te video shows a gyrating female dancer in skimpy olive-green ascii117nderwear -- a homage, he said, to Gaddafis famed female bodygascii117ards -- either side of the Libyan leader as he delivers his speech.

Alooshe said the clip had registered aboascii117t 1.8 million views early on Tascii117esday and that he also created a version withoascii117t the dancer after being told by some viewers the video was too risqascii117e.

He said he had received positive feedback on his Facebook page and by email from many viewers in Arab coascii117ntries, even after they discovered from his details on the social networking site that he was Israeli.

'Of coascii117rse there were those who hascii117rled the ascii117sascii117al abascii117se and I was even branded a Mossad spy, bascii117t I have many friend reqascii117ests pending for my Facebook page,' he said.

Alooshe said he believed the popascii117larity of the clip was proof that social networking sites were playing an inflascii117ential role in the cascii117rrent political ascii117pheaval in the Arab world, which has seen leaders oascii117sted in Tascii117nisia and Egypt by popascii117lar movements.

The clip elicited hascii117ndreds of comments on the Yoascii117Tascii117be page, one of which, posted by 'bhamdan11' read: 'Great clip, I jascii117st hope one day we? can overthrow all of oascii117r dictators and live free.'