bar refaeli angers israeli army

Bar Refaeli Commercial angers Isreal’s Military

Model Bar Refaeli has found herself at the center of another controversy regarding her status as one of Israel’s most famous citizens.

The supermodel and former girlfriend of Leonardo Dicaprio is currently being seen on a commercial made by the Israel ministry of Foreign Affairs to publicize to publicize the country’s technological achievements.

Members of the Israel Army, known as the Israel Defense Forces have lodged official protests about the use of the model because of her failure to complete her legally required military service as a woman over the age of 18.

The IDF’s Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai has gone so far as sending a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling for the commercial to be pulled as it does not back recent IDF campaign’s calling on all Israeli citizens to complete their military service.

“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,” Mordechai wrote, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The subject of Refaeli’s military service has caused controversy a number of times in the past; amongst the accusations leveled against the model is the fact she married a family friend in 2007 as married women are not legally required to serve in the IDF. In 2010 the subject was brought up again when Refaeli filed taxes as a foreign resident of Israel.

On The Web:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/the-daily-beast/9947487/Model-Bar-Refaeli-in-trouble-with-Israeli-army.html

‘IDF against use of Bar Refaeli in gov’t campaign’
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/IDF-against-use-of-Bar-Refaeli-in-govt-campaign-306796