LONDON - Israeli model Bar Refaeli has been targeted by her country’s army for her refusal to serve and for applying for a non-resident status in her native Israel so she can pay less tax.

Refaeli, 24, has come under the attack of a senior officer with the Israel Defense Forces, who has called for a boycott of products advertised by her.

“I can’t take on Bar Refaeli, but you can,” the Telegraph quoted Major General Avi Zamir, as telling students in Herzliya near Tel Aviv.

Serving in the military is considered a high priority in Israel, and with a third of the eligible population estimated to avoid national service, it has left the country’s military leadership worried.

Refaeli had escaped serving in the army when she married a family friend, as married women are exempted from military service.

But she soon divorced and within a year she was dating ‘Titanic’ star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Now the model has once again become the centre of a controversy after it was revealed that she was setting up an offshore company in order to reduce the amount of tax she would pay in Israel.

Refaeli’s mother has hit back at the public criticism.

“The general is a disgrace. Before they attack Bar they should check the government and see who in government did not join the army,” she told an Israeli website. (ANI)