Bar Refaeli love hate

Beautiful Bar Refaeli has a love-hate relationship with her country Israel. Bar Refaeli did her country proud by becoming the first Israeli model to feature in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.....first in 2007 and then again in 2008. She hit the modeling stage much earlier though and appeared in the South African edition of Sports Illustrated (2002): Everyone in Israel loved her for these achievements, and when she came back home in March 2007, there was a mad rush by the local media to get her photos, to interview her, and even to chase her around like paparazzi wherever she went! This snapped something inside the beautiful model. In an interview Bar Refaeli said she would never visit Israel again: "The paparazzi there are rude and they touch me," Refaeli said in an interview with the British magazine Tatler. "In Israel, everyone thinks they can do all sorts of stuff. They feel that they can talk to me, touch me, and say, Hold on a minute, and I'll stop." "I'm not comfortable in Israel," the 22-year-old told interviewer Camilla Long. "I just feel very uncomfortable." Interestingly Bar Refaeli's love-hate relationship with Israel has an older history. Israeli citizens (men and women) are required to serve in the Israeli army for a short period when they turn 18; unless they are physically disabled, ultra-religious, or married. In 2004, Bar Refaeli, already a famous model, arranged a fake marriage with 41-year old Ari Weinstein, a close family friend. People in Israel were enraged, saying that other young people and girls were dying for their country while Bar Refaeli was living peacefully and advancing her modeling career, and now when it was her time to serve the nation, she chickened out. But what caused even more hate towards the young beauty was when she gave a defiant interview and said, "I don't regret not enlisting, because it paid off big time." Bar Refaeli, who settled down in New York, went on to ask, "Why is it good to die for one's country? Isn't it better to live in New York?" Luckily for her, Bar Refaeli soon hit the news first with her modeling work (O’Neill, Moët & Chandon, Recarlo) then by appearing in several magazine spreads and covers (French Elle, Italian GQ, British Maxim, and Arena). Bar Refaeli is primarily a photo model and appeared on the catwalk mostly in swimsuits and lingerie, because of her super body. Bar Refaeli has body measurements of 35-24-35 and a height of 5'9". She has been riding horses since her childhood and that has improved her posture and poise. Bar Refaeli's relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio threw her more into the headlines. The two met in November 2005, a few weeks after DiCaprio ended his relationship with supermodel Giselle Bundchen. Fellow Israeli Danny Avikazer organized a party in Las Vegas for U2 band members who were in town. DiCaprio, like hundreds of other celebrities, was invited to grace the event. Also, Refaeli, who knew Avikazer from the glamorous parties he holds in New York, was invited to the private party and arrived escorted by her friend, model Adi Neumann. After their first meeting Leo wooed the beautiful Israeli girl by sending a huge flower bouquet every morning to her hotel room. This went on for 10 days. After Bar and Leo became a couple, he continued to pamper her with special chocolates and text messages. That Leonardo DiCaprio had a new love interest became known in the US when this photo appeared of him and Bar Refaeli taking a ride at the Six Flags Magic Mountain "Scream Ride" in Valencia, California. Bar Refaeli had her own relationships before hooking up with Leo– first with Uri El-Natan, and then with ex-Baywatch star David Charvet. When Leo was shooting in Mozambique for The Blood Diamond, he found time in his busy schedule to meet his lover in Barcelona, where Refaeli was doing a fashion show. DiCaprio introduced the pretty Israeli girl to his mother and grandmother. With her growing international profile, the 21-year old Bar Refaeli was asked by her government to represent Israel at the World Travel Market tourism fair in London (2006). She then became tourism ambassador for Israel. But the love-hate relationship with her country continued when Bar Refaeli was chosen the fashion model of the year and also as the fashion star of the year. But the arrogant model said, "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." In fact many in Israel, including the government, hated the fact that an unpatriotic draft-dodger had been made tourism ambassador. On March 10, 2008, Bar Refaeli was invited to attend a State Dinner held in France for the visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres. This despite some in Israel demanding that people who had not done their military service should not have been invited.....but as many others pointed out President Shimon Peres himself had not done his compulsory military service back when he was 18! It was ironic that the Israeli model was at that State Dinner, since the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy was in the news for his affair with a French model, Carla Bruni! Later of course he married Carla...wonder if the two models talked shop? So is there anything that Bar Refaeli loves about her country? She says she loves eating in the restaurants and riding horses, which she learned in childhood, while growing up on her parents' ranch in Hod HaSharon. Born June 4 1985, to Tzipi and Rafi, Bar Refaeli first appeared in a commercial when only eight months old. It was her mother who saw the potential in her pretty daughter. Interestingly Bar Refaeli's mother was also a model, going by her maiden name Tzipi Levin. So she knew what it would take for her daughter to make it big in the modeling business; a similar story with the mother of Brazilian model Yasmin Brunet Fernandez. Bar Refaeli really started her modeling career at age 15, after getting her braces removed. In 2000 she won the model-of-the-year title in Israel, a feat which she repeated the next year. And after that Bar Refali's stunning body appeared on the international stage with Sports Illustrated South Africa. In a clear case of ignorance combined with arrogance, Bar Rafeli once claimed that her name was unique. "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." Actually Bar is an Israeli name, the most famous "Bar" in Jewish history being Bar Kochba. Bar with Leo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. There was speculation that their relationship had ended, though Leo visited her in Israel in March 2007, when Bar and surfer Kelly Slater were together for a time in Israel. But then Leo and Bar were again seen together shopping early this year. Bar told Vanity Fair Italy that she has no intentions of settling down just yet. “The truth is, I don’t believe in marriage. A couple doesn’t need a contract.” Arena Magazine named her the Best Body of 2008 and published these photos to make the point: Curiously, Bar Refaeli had broken her contract with Renuar, the company that brought her to public attention, because they wanted her to pose for provocative and nude photos. The case went to court where Bar Refaeli was awarded $35,000 in damages due to her young age at the time of the contract. Ironically Bar Refaeli then appeared in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition semi-nude! And despite the love-hate relationship that Bar Refaeli has with her native Israel, these photos were taken at the Dan Caesarea Resort in Israel. Bar Refaeli is online on Twitter and Facebbok to connect with her fans. update: Bar Refaeli is the cover girl for the 2009 Sports Illustrated!