Celebrity Grapevine

Bar Refaeli has for several years been included in criticisms of celebrities who evaded army duty.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Bar Refaeli 88 224 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Bar Refaeli 88 224
(photo credit: Courtesy)
THE NEW season of Dancing with the Stars on Channel 2 is just around the corner. Out to prove their talent on the dance floor are Vika Finkelstein, Lucy Davidovich, Lior Miller, Einat Ehrlich, Rotem Sela and Zohar Liba, who have all been rehearsing like crazy. Judging by the promos, the stars will acquit themselves quite well. They may not all be brilliant - but it's a fairly safe bet to say that there won't be any flops. But even if their toes don't twinkle to quite the extent that they should, take a good look at their gorgeous clothes and hair styles. Even when the dancing is great, if the outfits are wrong, forget it. Anything that irritates the eye will lose points. SOMETIMES journalists and editors are so one-eyed about a story that they refuse to recognize they might be wrong. Case in point are stories revolving around Bar Refaeli, who for several years has been included in criticisms of celebrities who evaded army duty. A couple of months back, Israel Radio's military reporter Carmella Menashe set the record straight and said that she had documented evidence that Refaeli had wanted to serve, but had been ill, and asked for a deferment which was not granted. In the final analysis, Refaeli did not serve - but not because she was evading her duty. Yediot Aharonot chooses to ignore this - or perhaps did not hear the broadcast in which Menashe came to Refaeli's defense - and last week ran the headline: "Fox's Dilemma". What's the dilemma? Refaeli, 23, has been signed to a three year contract to head the Fox Campaign. A forum that aims to motivate all citizens to take responsibility for contributing to the welfare of the nation has threatened to boycott Fox if Refaeli remains its spokesmodel. Fox, now an international company, explained that it wanted to choose a presenter with internationally notoriety. That didn't cut it for members of the forum. Yediot quoted Refaeli, who allegedly said in an interview published in the paper's Simchat Torah edition last year, that she had no regrets about not enlisting because she had earned a lot by not doing so, and reportedly added that the most stupid thing she'd ever heard in her life was the popular slogan: "It's good to die for our country." The article, or rather Refaeli's alleged comments, caused considerable controversy. In a radio interview with Judy Shalom Nir Mozes, Refaeli's mother, Tzipi Levin, claimed that her daughter had been grossly misquoted, and that she had not made the negative remarks attributed to her. Levin said that her daughter was very patriotic and cited examples of that patriotism for which there is ample proof. Last week Colonel (Res) Reuven Agassi, a member of the forum's executive body, along with actor Shlomo Vishinsky, whose son Lior, 20, was killed while on military duty four years ago, visited Fox CEO Harel Wizel to ask him to drop Refaeli and find someone else in her stead. They explained their objections and said that they would prefer not to call a boycott on Fox merchandise. However, if Fox is unwilling to drop the model, they say the company will have to face the consequences. ALTHOUGH SHE has appeared in some very provocative outfits, actress and model Moran Attias knows where to draw a red line. Attias walked off the set of the movie Friday the 13th when the director wanted a close-up of her bare breasts. Although Attias frequently reveals quite a lot of cleavage in the clothes she wears, getting down to the bare essentials - especially for a close-up shot - was a little too much. For this principle Attias was prepared to forfeit the $200,000 she would have earned for her performance in the movie. ONE OF the most publicized couples in showbiz, Ninet Tayeb and Yehuda Levy, were seen buying baby clothes. No, they're not expecting, but her brother Hananya and his sister Maya added to the count of nieces and nephews in their respective families. Hananya has a new son and Maya a new daughter, so auntie Ninet and Uncle Yehuda had to go out and do the right thing. WHEN YOU sign a contract, your talent is no longer your own, as singer Harel Skaat discovered the hard way. Skaat is being sued for breach of contract by Hed Artzi which claims that he produced an album in secret without notifying the record company that he was doing so. Hed Artzi has demanded that Skaat turn over to them anything and everything related to the album - recordings, lyrics, music, plus anything else he may have produced while under contract. Next time he'll be more careful when asked to sign on a dotted line.