Bar Refaeli Will Host Israel’s "X Factor"

Image by Getty Images

By Chavie Lieber May 28, 2013

Move over, Simon Cowell.

Israeli model Bar Refaeli is confirmed to host the upcoming show of Israel’s “The X Factor,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Following a giant success of the Israeli version of “The Voice,” Israel’s Channel 2 bought the rights last year for the FremantleMedia format and the show will debut this fall.

Refaeli is reportedly the highest paid talent on the show, with her salary banking in at roughly 1 million shekel (about $270,000). Other talent on the show include veteran Israeli rocker Rami Fortis, Mizrahi singer Moshe Peretz, and pop star Ivri Lider.

The show’s choice of host comes as no surprise. The 27-year-old model is arguably Israel’s most popular celebrity, topping Maxim’s Hot 100 list in 2012 and making headlines earlier this year after making out with Jewish actor Jesse Heiman in a Super Bowl ad.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO