Israelicious
Bar Refaeli made history this month, becoming the first Israeli model to be featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Born in Hod HaSharon, the 21-year-old beauty started doing commercials in Israel when she was eight months old. At 10, she wanted to be a skydiver; then she gave up modeling for the three years that she had braces. Lucky for S.I. readers, though, at 15 she jumped back into the game and has been climbing the pinup ladder ever since
In an interview with the magazine, Refaeli said that the Hebrew song “My Friend” about the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin makes her cry, and revealed that what attracts her to a man is “a sense of humor, kindness, the way he laughs.” (Don’t get your hopes up: She’s been dating actor Leonardo DiCaprio for months.) Refaeli said she was very proud of her groundbreaking fashion feat.
“It’s always a huge honor to be the first to do something,” she told the magazine. “People always remember the first person to do something.”
Especially if all she’s wearing is a little shmatte.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!