Playboy launched its first Hebrew version of the popular men's magazine Tuesday in Israel, featuring models and editorials from writers from the Jewish state.
"Our target is men who want a taste of the good life and also women who are curious about the tastes of the men in their lives," Playboy CEO Daniel Pomerantz said in a Tuesday press conference in Tel Aviv.
"I believe that the special formula that has brought Playboy to a rare level of success throughout the world will continue to succeed in my new home Israel."
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The magazine, which has been available in Israel for years and has been published in other languages, might trigger a further rift between the nation's younger, more secular demographic and the state's conservative Jewish community and Muslim minority, which imposes strict modesty rules upon its women.
Previously, religious extremists burned down bus stops that showcased ads of fully-dressed women whose attire still did not meet culturally-accepted modesty requirements, reported
Haaretz, Israel's oldest daily newspaper.
Pomerantz, who proposed the idea for a Hebrew Playboy edition, told reporters the idea came from his trips to the Jewish state over the years, which led him to conclude that the target audience was there.
Pomerantz, who was born in America and was formerly a lawyer in Chicago, has moved to Israel. His decision to move abroad stemmed from his embrace of his Jewish heritage he wrote in a blog post.
Pomerantz said he is confident the magazine will succeed.
"Israel is a very complicated country with tradition and modernity and also with serious things and fun fashionable things and that is exactly the character of Playboy. It is a complicated and beautiful magazine for a complicated and beautiful country," he said.
He defended his decision to translate the magazine.
"People will see just from the words Playboy Israel that we are a normal country, fashionable, modern, people who work every day with a passion and if you read Playboy magazine you see that it's not just beauty and fashion but it's also depth and politics and issues, people who care and think about the world they live in," Pomerantz said.
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Swimwear model Nataly Dadon, who will be gracing the first edition's cover, also appeared at the conference, where she told reporters that she was very excited to be featured in the magazine.
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