Bar Refaeli ad aired over army protests

Foreign Ministry had come under fire for enlisting services of ‘draft-dodging’ supermodel

Days after a high-profile row with the IDF over Bar Refaeli’s army service, the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday released a pro-Israel ad starring the international supermodel.

On Sunday, news of Refaeli’s participation in the planned PR campaign spurred IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai to write a letter urging the Foreign Ministry to consider “the negative message sent out to Israeli society by the inclusion of Bar Refaeli, who did not complete national service, as Israel’s representative in a public relations campaign.”

“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,” the letter read.

Refaeli dismissed the “negative energy and criticism” inherent in the letter on Tuesday, telling Channel 2, “Sometimes, there are people with negative energy, but they have to sleep at night. I personally don’t lose any sleep over it.”

Refaeli had acknowledged the brewing controversy on Monday in a Hebrew tweet, writing, “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 [Yedioth Ahronoth]!”

The tweet linked to a picture of a banner calling on US President Barack Obama to free imprisoned spy-for-Israel Jonathan Pollard.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/BarRefaeli/status/313589484941893632″]

The supermodel irked some Israelis and created controversy in 2003 when she opted not to finish her compulsory military service by marrying a family acquaintance, whom she divorced soon after — a perceived slight some of her countrymen and countrywomen have still not forgiven. At the time, Refaeli stated that army service would interfere with her modeling career.

Several years ago, the IDF led a campaign against celebrities who chose not to serve in the military. In 2010, Haaretz reported that then-IDF personnel directorate head Maj. Gen. Avi Zamir said, “Bar Refaeli shouldn’t appear in ads. And if she does, then don’t buy the products. That’s the answer.”

In a statement on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said the model’s past was irrelevant.

“Refaeli is considered one of the most beautiful women in the world and is widely recognized as an Israeli,” the ministry said in a statement. “There is no reason to bring up the past when it comes to a campaign of public diplomacy of this kind.”

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