While the PM’s wife has always been an easy target for gossip, it is unclear just what possessed her to dress like a Victoria’s Secret model at the event. Consequently, the Israeli media’s constant jabs at Netanyahu’s wife this week proved brutal. For one, they argued, it wasn’t age appropriate, nor was it weight appropriate, per say, but isn’t that kind of mean? One reporter teased that Mrs. Netanyahu should be crowned the “new face of the Pillsbury Doughboy”, which is down right bullying.
“The outfit Sara chose for Tuesday’s inauguration of the 19th Knesset was a form-fitting, lacy number with a transparent top. Except for a black band covering her bust, everything north of the waist was on full display. Who does she think she is, Beyoncé at the Super Bowl?” wrote Uriel Heilman of the JTA news agency, later adding that she’s “no Michelle Obama.”
Yes, Obama has always been a fashion darling, getting rave reviews for her long, luxurious ball gown dresses, always exposing her toned Madonna arms. But her attire can come off as label-obsessed and out of touch.
Incidentally, Israeli politician Limor Livnat came to Netanyahu’s aide, calling out the Israeli media for their “sexist discourse.”
“There’s something very sad in the fact that, on a day when a record number of 27 talented women, many of them feminists, were sworn in to the Knesset, specifically on this day there are those who choose to lash out at this woman in such a superficial and shallow way,” The Daily Beast quoted Livnat as saying.
If you’ve been following Israeli news lately, then you’re blatantly aware of another Israeli blonde making media headlines this week, Bar Refaeli— the Israeli supermodel who made out with a nerd for the now infamous GoDaddy.com Super Bowl commercial. Refaeli not only had the looks to pull off this commercial, but she also possessed the strength and resilience to brush off any criticism in the name of fun.
And Netanyahu did the same thing: the former El Al flight attendant must have foreseen the media fire storm that would arise following her appearance last Tuesday. But she did it anyway, unabashed and with a Pan Am smile, it was a true testament to some good old fashioned chutzpah at its finest. For better or worse, Israeli women are daring, and that’s something to be proud of.
