Playboy Israel: Hebrew Language Edition Launches In Tel Aviv

Playboy launched its very first Hebrew edition of the gentleman’s magazine in Israel on Tuesday.

Citizens of the Holy Land can now read Playboy(for the articles, wink) in their native tongue with Tuesday’s debut of Playboy Israel, a Hebrew language edition of the popular magazine. According to MSN Business, Playboy has actually been widely available in Israel for some time, but Playboy Israel will be the first local edition of the publication.

Playboy Israel features articles written by Israeli writers and, of course, Israeli models.

“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,” owner and publisher Daniel Pomerantz said at the launch of Playboy Israel 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.”

Cover girl Nataly Dadon posed next to a giant cut-out of the magazine, showing her on the cover both topless and clad in lacy underwear. Dadon said she is happy and excited to be featured in the first edition of Playboy Israel.

The only big question mark is how well it will do in Israel. Observant Jews and Muslims live by strict modesty codes, and it hasn’t been uncommon for extreme religious zealots to burn down bus stops with ads featuring fully-dressed women (major advertisers have avoided female models no matter how modestly dressed they are).

Additionally, MSN Now reports that the 1989 launch of Penthouse Israel was a huge flop.

Still, Pomerantz, a lawyer who relocated from Chicago to Israel, is confident that Playboy‘s Hebrew edition will be a huge hit.

“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.

“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,” he said.

An interview with Avi Dichter, Israel’s former internal security service chief, appears in this month’s issue.

What do you think? Will Playboy Israel, the magazine’s first Hebrew language edition, be a success or a flop?