Good luck enforcing this. Do our lawmakers have nothing else to do?

Better be skinny than all the problems associated with obesity later on in life.

No wonder every man just LOVES Bar Refaeli - she's one of the few models that has some meat on her, this is what most of us like. We don't like girls looking like clothes hangers.

But! does this extend to international companies who have zero sized annorexic models splashed all over their posters that grace the billboards here? I'm so happy that someone, somewhere finally addressed this problem. It's time we get ourselves inline with this international phenoma.

We need more centers to deal with this life-threatening problem - it's not enough to remove the source. Annorexia is a mental disorder.

I am a nutritionist in the States, and I think this ban is absolutely ridiculous. Personally, I have always been slightly underweight, with a BMI of roughly 17.5. Yet, I am healthy, as indicated by biochemical lab values, normal growth and development, and a high energy level and substantial appetite. All I'm saying, is that just because some individuals are naturally underweight, does not mean they are unhealthy or suffering from an eating disorder. The ban is really discriminatory, since those women no longer have a right to their profession, solely based on their body type. Eating disorders are a problem. It should be addressed. But prohibiting underweight models is just ridiculous.

A ban on overweight models with a hefty fine?

Israel. Now the world will give us some respect. This law will stop poverty, unemployment,terrorism, iran's nuke program, our water shortage, traffic accidents, dissing by the u.n. and eurabian union and bring the Messiah in our time. It is even better for the Jewish people than the law banning removal of cats' claw. Good old knesset. What would we do without them and their laws? Perhaps be happy and live.

Not the other way around. So I would doubt that this would "ban" any more models than the modeling profession already does by definition, with its focus on sculpture-like forms, men with shaped yet not too muscled bodies, and women so thin they might might just snap if the wind starts up. That's the Western ideal, for some reason. And when kids grow up and watch that, this is what they aspire to. In the case of women, the ideals the models set for them are largely unattainable and sometimes dangerous. In the case of models who either clearly live through a dangerous regimen of diets or look the part, the image is dangerous. That some of them are "naturally like that" is irrelevant to the point, that of this setting an unhealthy ideal to teens, and that these women would not have been hired to their jobs in their current weight and appearance had this wrong ideal not been in existence in the first place.

Kudos to you Roman for a perfect post. This ban, which I totally agree with, is for the good health of our future generation.

...into people's lives and businesses. Does Israel wish to become a "nanny state?" A better idea is to affect change with your wallets: Citizens can organize a boycott of companies who use underweight models. See how quickly they will put healthier looking girls in their ads.

Someone made a comment better skinny that a fat cow... Eating disorders are a SERIOUS Problem I've been a nurse for over 30 years working ICU ER Malnutrition - caused by undereating or overeating. The word malnutrition indicates deficiency for energy, protein and micronutrients (e.g. vitamin A, iodine and iron) either singularly or in combination. It can cause severe health risks including (but not limited to) respiratory infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and death. You can get dehydration, Electrolyte imbalances, Hyponatremia Muscle atrophy, paralysis gastric bleeding, heart failure. And these women die from it. It is a very sad disease. Isn't it good G-d looks at the heart?

Does anyone EVER see a women's magazine that doesn't feature articles about those pesky diets. Why aspire to or work (diet/exercise) towards a slim build because that's seen as attractive? Just lobby to have those "skinny" women outlawed altogether, get some "healthy" more Zaftig women to replace them, thus creating a new cultural norm. Bless that Rubens guy! I'm with Jayna (#6). For people like us, who are naturally slight with a great appetite: we're "lucky"...except for the never-ending barrage of "here, you can take some of my weight" or "don't you eat?" or all of the other "compliments" (like "skinny" "toothpick" "bones", etc). No, we are not the average....but we get a little vindication when we see that for all of the hurtful comments/names we get growing up("skinny" can be just as hurtful as "fatty"), that we can be "supermodels". Roman, you're usually dead-on politically, but you're way off here. How about a law that allows you to order at a restaurant as many calories as your BMI permits? When is government intervening a little too much?

It's a sad thing to say, but I'm one of them and I see the difference from US - at least as far as I know about you from the Internet. I don't think any kind of consumer boycott will work in Israel, maybe only political one.

great step!!!! Now we just need to have more counseling and have it be more mainstream for all eating disorders that plague both men and women, teens, and adults. Its not just anorexia that is the problem but also bulimia, binge eating, and everything in between. It rarely has to do with food but more with self image and self worth.. kol ha kovod to get rid of the image that to be a skeleton is what is "desirable" or healthy. someone put some money into those eating disorder clinics.... they look like jails!

them? will they give them fines, I think once again instead of proper eating diet habits at schools, and in school kaffeetirs they taking the personal responsibility from the people, just invest in proper education instead of ordering people. you r turnning your state into zombies. and for the last time law like this won't work, Anorexia is mental disorder, it isn't something to choose, believe it or not according to resereach even in societies that think the fat is beautiful the anorexia also exist, this got nothing to do with will or with choice, men also become anorexic, to show a women with anorexia is basically show that narrow minded people without knowing anything about the disorder handling the law.

every country should follow Israel's example! i'm sure this'll help every impressionable teen (female AND male!)

We are a society filled with either skinny mini women (who are anorexic) or 'cow' women who are jealous of the skinny mini women. a pity that none of the TBers especially the male ones have proper respectful perspective for women...all these male TBers seem to be saying is that we need to continue objectifying women in order to please their wierd views! Sad situation really!

We're women. We naturally have body fat. For probably most of us there really isn't a way to get that really low body fat composition unless by extreme dieting or by extreme exercising or by drugs or by surgery. Anyways, the idea that we are kind of being told through repeated exposure of what should be considered beautiful is silly also. Just by someone being very skinny, tall, having heavy bone structure, being symmetrical with clear skin- might be really unusual and make the clothes look good, but it does not necessarily add up to beautiful. You can see it in the top models. There is something that is lost amongst it all that still shows.

you have not been following international news- obviously. Is Israel reinventing the wheel? Laws like this have been in place and enforced for years elsewhere. Welcome to the real world.

you lost your bet- laws like this have been in place in North America and the EU for a while- the internet is hardly the place to get your education. Don't know who made the remark here- but overweight women are not 'fat cows'- this is a remark by a 'chauvinistic pig'- how is this for a Mexican standoff? LOL

for those here who have not been following international news: Madrid, Spain: ban on skinny models on catwalks. Sept. 2006 New York: 2007 France finally 2010 those are just the first 3 hits on google.. so- good for Israel-

Thank you for your support and not enabling models to act out with their eating disorders. http://soberbythesea.blogspot.com