Bar Refaeli has always been one of the more controversial Israelis.
No, it’s not because people are jealous of her looks. Or friends. Or wealth. Or success. Well, maybe.
Rather, the Israeli supermodel is one of the most famous draft-dodgers. Refaeli married a family friend in order to procure a service exemption. Now, she is also in the center of a dispute between the IDF and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israeli state department).
The reason? Refaeli will be featured in a campaign that highlights products of everyday life which originated in Israel. IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai thinks that choosing a representative who escaped service sets bad precedent for future soldiers.
The Israeli MFA spokesperson Yigal Palmor told Israeli news website Walla that the IDF has no authority to get involved in their business and that the campaign featuring a well known beauty like like Refaeli will only boost Israel’s worldwide image. As expected, there was some name calling as well as Palmor called out Mordechai for pretending to be the “Minister of Morals.”
Zing!
Anyway, Refaeli, who usually holds no prisoners when responding to criticism, on this issue chose to rise above the controversy. Refaeli recently posted an Instagram photo calling for President Obama to release Jonathan Pollard. There, she added that she doesn’t care about the media campaign because she has has more followers than the main Israeli newspaper “Yedioth Ahronot” and that she will continue to focus on issues she finds important.
Serving in the IDF or not, the girl is a fighter.
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