The Israeli Army Is NOT Happy About Bar Refaeli's Pro-Israel Ad

The Israeli Foreign Ministry picked supermodel Bar Refaeli as the face of its new ad campaign, and the Israeli Defence Force is not happy about it.

Why? The Sports Illustrated bikini model dodged Israel's mandatory, two-year military service.
IDF spokesman Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai explained in a letter to the Foreign Ministry Director that:

"The choice of a representative who did not serve in the military as an official presenter on behalf of Israel, conveys the message that we ignore and forgive evasion of enlistment, and encourages identification, among youths of both sexes, with the success of those who did not enlist ... The IDF has been operating, in the last few years, in a variety of ways, to strengthen the value of IDF service, and to fight the phenomenon of enlistment evasion, in order to preserve the societal value that sees the IDF as the people's army.”

Refaeli has spoken out about skipping out on service. According to Jewish news site Ynet, Refaeli briefly married a friend to evade the draft:

“I really wanted to serve in the IDF, but I don’t regret not enlisting, because it paid off big time,” she told a reporter. “That’s just the way it is, celebrities have other needs. I hope my case has influenced the army.

This isn't the first time Refaeli has come under fire for dodging the draft. A boycott was organized in 2008 after the model was picked to be the face of Israel-based fashion chain Fox. The situation was smoothed over after she agreed to visit injured soldiers for the brand and encourage people to enlist in the army.

In 2010, the IDF also called on citizens to boycott items that were endorsed by celebrities who didn't serve in the military, Haaretz reports. Major General Avi Zamir told students at Herzliya simply that "Bar Refaeli shouldn't appear in ads. And if she does, then don’t buy the products. That's the answer."
But Refaeli isn't put off by the IDF's strong response to her pro-Israeli campaign. 

She responded by posting a picture to her Instagram asking President Barack Obama to free convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard with a message that translates in English to: "You can use the clip for the Foreign Ministry or drop it, but my Instagram feed has more readers than Israel’s most popular newspaper."

Ashdod teen impersonated Bar Refaeli's brother to obtain model's contact info

The youth, 17, told authorities that he saw Refaeli’s image on the hit reality show "X Factor" and wanted to meet her.

Bar Refaeli promotes the X Factor 370. (photo credit:Courtesy The X Factor Israel Facebook page)



Tel Aviv police arrested an Ashdod youth, 17, on Sunday for sending harassing text messages to Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli.

Authorities say the suspect managed to obtain Refaeli’s contact information by pretending to be her brother.

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He then sent Refaeli repeated text messages.

The youth told authorities that he saw Refaeli on the hit reality show X Factor and wanted to meet her.

He was released on the condition that he will not attempt to make any sort of contact with the complainant for 30 days, and was given a restraining order banning him from being within 500 meters of her house.

Earlier this year, the 27-year-old supermodel signed a contract with Reshet TV, rumored to be of around NIS 1 million, to host the Israeli version of the popular music contest, made famous in the UK by Simon Cowell and his unique brand of judging.

Refaeli is joined on the show’s panel by singers Ivri Lider, Moshe Peretz and Rami Fortis.

While the judges are all household names in Israel, host Refaeli is accustomed to making headlines abroad as well as in her homeland.

Back in February, the blonde bombshell featured in one of the most talked- about commercials of the 2013 Super Bowl, for Internet domain hosting company GoDaddy. The 30-second clip, entitled “Perfect Match,” featured Refaeli in an excruciatingly loud make-out session with a plump computer nerd, as an announcer explained that the company was a perfect combination of sexy and smart.

Refaeli came under fire in December of last year for posting a photo of herself dressed in a Santa suit on Instagram with the caption “Good Morning Santa.”

Twitter followers berated Refaeli for wearing a Santa suit, since she is Jewish, even telling her that she is “betraying Israel.”

While the model received a number of harshly worded messages condemning the picture, many of her Instagram followers came to her defense. “Part of her fans are Christians.

You can’t judge a person cause of his religion,” one follower wrote.