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A new ad released by Israeli clothing company Hoodies features supermodel Bar Refaeli donning a Muslim headscarf displaying only her eyes. Text appears on the screen asking “Is it Iran here?” before the model tears off the head covering.
After a few seconds of the model dancing around in the company’s tracksuit apparel, big letters across the screen reads “Freedom is basic.”
The video shared Monday night on the company’s Facebook page has already accrued 280,000 views and almost 2,000 comments, the vast majority expressing outrage with the campaign which they feel negatively represents the decision made by many religious women to wear head coverings.
In an unusual marketing decision for a sportswear company, Hoodies appears to espouse political messaging, by attempting to capitalize on Israeli disdain for Iran to sell sweatshirts.
Whatever the outcome of the campaign is, Hoodies has certainly managed to infuriate and alienate a significant portion of Israel’s population while insulting Muslims worldwide.
One woman, Arab-American Nur Awad who lives in Haifa, voiced her fury with the company and the disbelief she felt upon viewing the ad.
Nur says she chose to begin wearing a hijab five years ago and took offense with Bar Refaeli and Hoodies portrayal of the choice she made as “repressive or negative” referring to the choice as a personal one made by millions of Muslims throughout the world- not just Iran.
“To me, after 5 years of wearing the hijab, I consider it a part of me, a part of my identity. Hoodies הודיס and Bar Refaeli have no right to present this part of my identity as repressive or negative,” said Nur, who grew up both in California and in Tamra, a small town in the northern Israel.
The video comes across as incredibly tone-deaf to many in Israel where a number of women wear some sort of religious head covering, including Muslims, Orthodox Jews, and Christians.
Many commenters on the video post pointed out what they see as the hypocrisy and ignorance of the ad. “Freedom is being able to wear what you want not what others think you should wear,” one user argued before calling for a boycott of the company.
Online sensation Nas Daily blasted the ad in a video titled “The Worst Commercial” in which he slams the “capitalism, badism, and ignorance” espoused by Hoodies in the campaign.
Hoodies indirectly responded to the controversy with an additional post on their Facebook page Tuesday, posting a slightly different version of the ad which includes a more diverse representation of women wearing headscarves interspersed with the original Refaeli clips.
The updated ad is accompanied by a short text in which the company appears to address the comments, and argues that the purpose of the “Freedom is Basic” campaign is to “inspire everyone from every religion, race and gender to choose his own way and express his freedom.”
“Do you sometimes feel that your freedom is under threat?” the post read. ”Our new campaign is designed to inspire everyone from every religion, race and gender to choose his own way and express his freedom.”
“We chose to provide a platform for inspirational figures in Israeli society, each of whom decided to free herself from the cables and express herself: Stav Shtrashko, Shams Marie Abumokh, Tahonia Rubel and Melech Zilbershlag,” Hoodies added.
In addition to Refaeli, the video features Israeli public figures Stav Strashko, a transgender actress, Tahounia Rubel, an Ethiopian-Israeli model, Hbadidic TV personality Melech Zilbershlag, and Israeli-Arab reality TV personality Shams Marie Abumokh.
Abumokh, who herself wears a hijab, was a Muslim contestant on Israel’s Big Brother reality show. She faced public backlash from her community for her decision as a religious woman to participate on the show.
In the midst of the Hoodies backlash, Abumokh has found herself once again embroiled in controversy as many have questioned her participation in the campaign, which has been slammed as Islamophobic.
Abumokh responded to the controversy and stood by her decision to appear in the ad.
“I am with every woman wherever she chooses to be what is convenient for her, but am against religious, social or political coercion,” she said in a statement. “The intention was not, heaven forbid, to disrespect or disparage any society, sector, stream, or religion.”
“I came to say once and for all if you are not from Iran, let us respect you and our choice” she added, seemingly supporting the notion that the campaign aimed to play on geopolitical tensions in order to market towards Israelis.
As large billboards displaying the campaign have begun to pop up in Tel Aviv, Hoodies has declined to comment directly on the controversy, but appears to be standing behind their marketing choices.
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