1 of 3 | Israeli supermodel Bar Rafaeli, host of the BRAVO Network special "Tommy Hilfiger Presents Ironic Iconic America", attends the NBC All-Star party in Beverly Hills, California on July 20, 2008. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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HAIFA, Israel, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Supermodel Bar Rafaeli will not be getting everything on her bridal wish list as officials denied her and her fiance's request for a no-fly zone over their wedding this week.
The controversial request to limit the airspace above the location -- a spa in northern Israel -- was initially approved by the state's Civil Aviation Authority without hesitation. When the country's transport minister, Israel Katz, heard news of the couple's desire however, he threatened to fire CAA head Joel Feldshuh if he did not leave the skies open.
"The skies belong to the public at large, and exclusivity should not be granted for commercial reasons to relevant organisations," Katz said in a statement.
The couple initially wanted the skies closed to the public because they reportedly are planning to use a large number of aircraft for the event including five drones, two helicopters and a hot air balloon, The Guardian reports. Closing the airspace, the argument goes, would assure safety against congestion and drones used by paparazzi to snap photos of the wedding.
Rafaeli, a native Israeli supermodel, is due to marry businessman Adi Ezra Thursday, and followed through with her bachelorette party plans despite the row her wedding has sparked amid officials. The celebrity posted photos from her second and final hen party, a poolside celebration, this week, avoiding the hot issue of the airspace above her nuptials.
"The world would be just fine with only girls in it," she wrote alongside a happy snap of herself floating in a pool. "(And my future husband)," she added.
