Bar Rafaeli – proof that Israel is a land of beauty and wonder?
This is clearly Bar Rafaeli’s year. The Israeli supermodel has been voted the third “hottest” woman in the world by men’s mag Maxim.
She was beaten to the top position on Maxim’s list by US actresses Megan Fox and Olivia Wilde.
Under her picture, which was published in Maxim yesterday, the editors wrote: “If there’s any evidence that the Middle East is a land of beauty and wonder – not just unending turbulence – Bar is it.”
Amazing what a pretty face can do. Politicians, professors, entrepreneurs and charitable institutions can speak about this endlessly, but Rafaeli flashes a smile in a picture and the world suddenly gets it.
Strange that they say the Middle East, however, and not Israel.
Hod HaSharon girl - Bar aged 18
What a ride it’s been for Rafaeli. Still only 23, she’s risen to the top of her field, dates Leonardo DiCaprio on and off (she met him at a party in Las Vegas when she was 20), and was the cover girl for Sport’s Illustrated’s 2009 swimsuit edition – the one that matters according to industry buffs.
Modeling since she was eight months old, one can’t help but wonder what comes next for this Hod HaSharon girl?
Think what an ambassador for Israel she could be… if she wanted to.
Israeli model Esti Ginzburg shot in New York
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Pop Culture
Bar Refaeli seems to be getting some positive attention headed Israel’s way, thanks to her recent appearance on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and other correlating accomplishments, as I enumerated earlier this month:
Bar is going to save Israel from a water crisis. Bar ate at these three Tel Aviv restaurants (I’ve eaten at all three as well). Bar wins a Women’s World Style Award. Bar appears on Ellen Degeneres. Bar’s body appears on the fuselage of a 737 jet. Bar eats a hamburger (this is news apparently). Bar shuts down the New York Stock Exchange. And my personal favorite, Leo (that kid from Growing Pains) must convert to Judaism in order to marry Bar.
I’m not the only one getting sick of her hotness. The Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) is apparently wondering about Refaeli’s contributions to the greater good of womankind.
Basically, the gist is, can’t there be another Israeli hottie about whom we can get excited? And the answer is decidedly yes. Meet Esti Ginzburg, a Tel Aviv teen who also featured prominently in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, for which she was photographed in Naples.
She’s come a long way since her first modeling gig, for the Tnuva dairy farms, at age eight. Two years ago, she replaced Yael Bar Zohar as the face of Fox clothing, and she hasn’t looked back since. Ginzburg went on to become an international talent, representing brands like FCUK, Pull & Bear, Castro, Tommy Hilfiger. She also recently featured in promotional materials associated with the H&M clothing store’s Winter 08-09 line (pictured). She’s also been on the cover of the French version of Elle magazine four times.
Ginzburg was recently announced as joining the stable of Victoria’s Secret models on the Israeli website for the E! entertainment industry news channel (story in Hebrew). Apparently a shoot is already underway in New York, where Ginzburg is celebrating her 19th birthday. Mazal tov.
Should we lower the Bar (Rafaeli) already?
Yes, of course I think Bar Rafaeli is totally hot and think that it’s quite awesome that she made the cover of Sport’s Illustrated but I’ve been feeling that I can’t turn a corner in the interweb without coming across another a mention of apparently Israel’s greatest invention since drip irrigation and it’s getting quite old. Bar is going to save Israel from a water crisis. Bar ate at these three Tel Aviv restaurants (I’ve eaten at all three as well). Bar wins a Women’s World Style Award. Bar appears on Ellen Degeneres. Bar’s body appears on the fuselage of a 737 jet. Bar eats a hamburger (this is news apparently). Bar shuts down the New York Stock Exchange. And my personal favorite, Leo (that kid from Growing Pains) must convert to Judaism in order to marry Bar.
There is one bright moment and that is David Letterman’s interview with her. The man loves interviewing hot models. Good times.
Blue carpet
Filed under: General, Israeliness, Movies, Pop Culture
Israelis love their celebrities. When locally celebrated pop culture figures reach even just the cusp of major international recognition, these figures feel the need to defend themselves as not being proper divas (see Shiri Maimon). When a local unknown becomes a blip on the international pop culture radar, let the Israeli embracing begin (see Eden Harel or Yael Naim).
And when a local becomes a full-blown international sensation – whoo boy, watch out for the storm of disproportionate Israeli love (see Zohan Dvir – yes, yes, we know he’s fictional – and supermodel Bar Rafaeli).
It all stems from a nation that has been deliberately starved of international pop culture contact since its birth – that is, until globalization and cable TV made such isolationism an irrelevant impossibility. The ebb and flow of Israel’s celeb-isolationism can be tracked as a parallel story to the ebb and flow of the profile of international rock acts that perform on her shores.
Known Zionist and big-time studio mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, on the other hand, is working hard to make Israel a standard destination for Hollywood’s elite – or at least for Hollywood’s elite comedic voice talents. Last year, he arranged for Jerry Seinfeld’s much-examined visit to Israel to promote his Bee Movie.
Now Katzenberg has arranged for a big-time Netanya premiere for Madagascar 2, with Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith attending the screening yesterday. With the right red-carpet arrangements, apparently experiences like the Refaeli-DiCaprio debacle are avoidable. Yesterday, fans lined up, and autographed were signed.
The talent even joked about adoration here exceeding fan buzz back in the US. According to the Jerusalem Post, Stiller was quoted as saying, “This is better than any premiere we have had so far,” while Rock said of Israel, “It’s much better than Hollywood. They don’t like us in Hollywood, but here they love us.” Maybe that’s because American fans have been trained – to an extent, anyway – to ignore celebrities so as to not make them uncomfortable.
Referring to his Madagascar 2 character, Rock took the love to another level: “Marty the Zebra [pictured] loves Israel.”
So yes, Katzenberg, keep them coming. And keep this great land of ours in the international press for items that are happy and light.
Sarkozy keeps his options open
Ah the French. You can trust the French to sincerely appreciate beauty. Take a look at this video of French president, Nicolas Sarkozy checking out Israeli model Bar Rafaeli at a greetings line up. He may be married to a gorgeous woman himself but he obviously likes to keep his eye on the field.
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