Bar Refaeli Controversy: Ad Campaign Starring 'Draft Dodger' Angers Israel Defense Department
Israel's foreign ministry is under fire by its department of defense after its decision to use internationally recognized supermodel Bar Refaeli as the face of a public relations campaign.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) officials said that by using Refaeli, who had not completed her mandatory military service, the Foreign Ministry was sending the wrong message.
One of the most successful and recognizable models in the world, Refaeli has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated's iconic swimsuit issue, starred in one of the last Super Bowl's most talked-about television commercials, dated Leonardo DiCaprio and is regarded as an online pinup.
IDF spokesman Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai drafted a letter to the Foreign Ministry on Sunday criticizing the decision to cast Refaeli in the ad to promote its cutting edge technology because she never served in the Israeli army, a duty required by all Israeli women over the age of 18.
"I wanted to direct your attention to the negative message this sends to Israeli society by the use of Bar Refaeli, who did not serve in the IDF, as an official representative of Israel in a campaign abroad," General Mordechai wrote in the letter, according to The Jerusalem Post.
This wasn't the first case of Refaeli receiving criticism from the IDF, however.
The tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Refaeli became a target for public scrutiny in her home country when a suspicious and shortlived marriage to a family friend in 2007 allowed her to dodge military service. According to Israeli law, married women are exempt from serving in the armed forces.
The new commercial promotes the country's advanced technology and features an appearance by the Israeli model at the conclusion of the television spot.
"In recent years, the IDF has been trying a variety of methods to improve the value of military service and to combat draft evasion in order to preserve the moral dimension whereby the IDF is the people's army," General Mordechai continued in the letter.
