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Leonardo DiCaprio visits Israel for wedding of close friend

A-list actor, who once dated supermodel Bar Rafaeli, visited Israel for less than 24 hours on whirlwind trip.

By World Israel News Staff

A-list actor Leonardo DiCaprio touched down in Israel on Sunday in order to attend the wedding of a close friend.

It appeared that DiCaprio was attempting to keep a low profile during the visit, heading to his hotel in a vehicle with blacked out windows and sporting a hoodie, baseball hat, sunglasses and face mask to avoid being recognized.

Later on Sunday, DiCaprio was spotted at SoHo House in Jaffa, where his friend, Israeli-American actor Danny Abekaser, married Israeli model May Elmakiyas in a traditional Jewish ceremony.

The wedding was a high-profile event attended by a plethora of Israeli celebrities. It included a musical performance by Israel’s most popular singer, Omer Adam.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, DiCaprio did not stay long after the wedding. Just hours after the event ended, he took off to the United States on his private jet.

DiCaprio, a vocal environmentalist, has invested in numerous Israeli green start-ups.

In September 2021, he provided an undisclosed amount of funding, believed to be several million dollars, for Aleph Farms, a company focused on developing lab-grown meat.

The Hollywood icon, who famously dated Israeli supermodel Bar Rafaeli, has been to Israel twice before on visits with his ex-girlfriend.

In 2010, anti-assimilation group Lehava wrote an open letter to Rafaeli urging her not to marry DiCaprio after the actor hinted in an interview that he was considering tying the knot.

“Assimilation has forever been one of the enemies of the Jewish people,” wrote Baruch Marzel, a senior leader at the organization.

“Come to your senses, look forward and back too – and not only the present. Don’t marry Leonardo DiCaprio, don’t harm the future generations.”

In 2007, revelations about Rafaeli’s draft-dodging sparked backlash among the Israeli public. Because married women are exempt from mandatory military service, Rafaeli quickly married and divorced a family friend in order to avoid serving in the army.

Rafaeli was unrepentant about her decision, despite the criticism.

“I don’t regret not enlisting because it paid off big time,” she told media in 2011.

“That’s just the way it is — celebrities have other needs.”