Ranked repeatedly as one of the world’s “hottest” women, Bar Refaeli appears nude on the cover of the July edition of Esquire. Pictures from the shoot can be seen here. But before you head there, consider the following:
The pictures appeal with the word “morality” scrawled across Refaeli’s body. Does this suggest that there is a real debate about the morality of her appearance? Is there?
Does the fact that she is both Jewish and Israeli make a diffrence in how any of us views this? Is she a source of Jewish pride? Jewish shame?
Is Refaeli’s Esquire cover not a fulfillment of David Ben-Gurion’s dream that Jews would one day be normal i.e. be capable of expressing ourselves, for better or worse, just like everyone else in the world?
If that is true, could this be a moment of Jewish sucess?
At the very least, we should pay attention to one of the captions which accompany the photos from an earlier spread in Maxim:

“If there’s any evidence that the Middle East is a land of beauty and wonder – not just unending turbulence – Bar is it.”
What can any of us do, especially if we are not exactly cut out for beauty shots, to remind ourselves, each other and the world, that the Middle East in general, and Israel in particular, are more than battle grounds — they are beautiful, wonderful places rich in human, natural and cultural resources valuable to all?