Top model Bar Refaeli, who recently granted a less than patriotic interview to Yedioth Ahronoth, slammed Israel yet again in a six-page interview with the British Tatler magazine.
The magazine’s October issue features a smiling Refaeli, although it is unlikely the average Israeli reading her interview will be left with the same expression.
“In Israel, everyone thinks they can touch you. The paparazzi there are very rude and they touch me. In Israel, everyone thinks they can do all sorts of stuff. They feel that the can talk to me, touch me, and say, ‘Hold on a minute,’ and I’ll stop. I’m not comfortable in Israel. I just feel very uncomfortable,” Refaeli told interviewer Camilla Long.
The six-page interview details Refaeli’s instant rise to fame as a model at 8 months. “The baby ads still run today,” the model boasted.
“When I was born, nobody was named ‘Bar’. But my mother was famous, and when I was born, a big article was published featuring my name in large print. Now loads of kids are called ‘Bar’, boys and girls.”
The interview also touched on Rafaeli’s draft-dodging, which she shrugged off, saying she could not enlist because she was sick and hospitalized. She elegantly avoided all mention of her hasty and convenient marriage to a much older family friend, which exempt her from having to enlist to the IDF.
When Long tried coaxing her about it, the Israeli model said, “I’m sick, and that’s how I’m treated? They treated me badly on purpose because I was famous. It was ridiculous.”
Refaeli also took a moment to dismiss compliments granted her by the Israeli public. “Sometimes my mom tells me I was voted number one whatever in Israel. She asks if I’m excited, and I say, ‘No. I really don’t care. Let’s move on.’”
One a positive note, Refaeli pointed out what she did like about her homeland. “I like riding horses and going out to restaurants with friends,” the top model concluded.