Is this the Jewish version of "The Kardashians?"

An Israeli reality TV show which follows one of the country's most high profile families tries to replicate the hit series.

Hello couch potato pancakes (has this grown on us? Do we need a different moniker?). Today on Jewish TV Club, I have a question: Who would be the Jewish Kardashians? Yes, yes, I know, Scott Disick is Jewish and therefore there are technically Jewish Kardashians, but what Jewish family could be, in theory, the kind of cultural phenomenon that is “The Kardashians?” And do we actually want that?

The Israeli reality TV complex has come up with its own answer to that question — and the answer is the Refaelis. At least the name of the reality show documenting their lives — “Refaelis” — tries to allude to the hit E! series. 

The show focuses on the family of Bar Refaeli, a name that is hopefully still familiar to most of the readers here (if not, please don’t let me know how old I am). The supermodel led some very high-profile campaigns, was the second Israeli to be in Sports Illustrated and became famous the world over for dating (I hope you know this already) Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, aka the man who breaks up with all his girlfriends when they turned 25 (a very creepy way to be consistent). The two were on and off for about six years, from 2005 (they met at a U2 party in Las Vegas) to 2011, when Bar turned… you guessed it! 25! Rumor has it they broke up because Leo, at 36, wasn’t willing to commit, which, I mean, still checks out a decade and a half later. He was 11 years older than her, definitely a more conservative age gap than the current 25-year-old he’s dating, Vittoria Cerretti (who recently turned 26!!! A stressful moment!!!).

Bar and Leo, circa 2010 (via Getty Images)

So how are the Refaelis like the Kardashians? Well, they are, in the immortal words of “Zoolander,” “really, really, ridiculously good-looking.” They have a badass mom at their helm, Zipi Refaeli, an actress, model and socialite who serves as an agent for both her model children — Bar and her brother On. The family lives in Hod HaSharon, not quite Beverly Hills but close and fancy enough, at least by Israeli standards, where the lifestyle of the rich and famous isn’t quite so glamorous. Zipi, like Kris, has been married twice and has a child from her first marriage, but is still married to, and very much in love with, the father of her three youngest children, Rafi Refaeli. There are models, fancy campaign shoots and jet-setting. There’s also a lot of bickering and sibling drama. The show even has a Kanye West connection (sigh) — Bar is mentioned in the rapper’s 2010 song “Christian Dior Denim Flow.” 

But would Kris Jenner go to jail for her kids? I’m not sure she would, but I know Zipi Refaeli would — and has. She spent 16 months in jail for tax evasion, as part of a plea deal. That drama was at the center of the first season of the show, which who, too had a high profile but very brief relationship with an American celeb: Haillee Steinfeld) puts out a single about a recent breakup, Bar travels to Dubai, wants to partner with aired two years ago. Now, Zipi’s back home, and the second season, which started airing last month, is more about their family drama. In a recent episode of “Refaelis!,” now in its second season, Zipi chats about that time with a woman she was jailed with, Tamar Ben Eli, sharing that she’s tried to mostly put the memories of the time behind her, and that she doesn’t have flashbacks of it anymore. 

So what else happens in this season of “Refaelis?” Well, On Refaeli breaks up with his fiance and puts out a new single (yes, he’s a musician, too). Bar flies to Dubai and hopes to start a skincare line with her other brother Dor, a shooting instructor and the co-founder of the anonymous messaging app Blindspot. And Rafi mostly futzes in the yard, recruiting Dor to help him with the manual labor and talking a lot about his and Zipi’s sex life (it’s the secret to the success of their marriage, he says.) But also, Rafi, who looks like a bold surfer dad with beaded necklaces and denim jackets and tattooed forearms, may be the secret gem of this show — he’s a charmer; he always says he’s sorry first and I love you back to Zipi; he always takes care of the kids and grandkids; and he really wants his children to be close and get along. Some would say he’s the glue of the family.

One thing we don’t really get to see in “Refaelis” is Bar’s immediate family: Her husband, businessman Adi Ezra, and her kids never make it in front of the cameras. While Bar has shared that she’d be OK with sharing her kids’ faces on her social media, Ezra is vehemently against it. And so, we mostly get to hear about, and not see, their three children. That means no lavish birthday parties in this show (or the classic Israeli birthday party with Hashachar chocolate spread pita sandwiches, either).

“Refaelis” is a nice enough show… but I’m not sure it answers the question of who the Jewish Kardashians are. This is a family that knows DRAMA — aside from Zipi’s jail time and the family’s many high profile relationships, there’s Bar getting married to an old family friend to avoid military service (and then divorcing him right away), On getting accused of bribing a commander in the army when he served (he was acquitted of all charges) and more. And yet the show’s drama doesn’t quite live up to that Kardashian-sized reputation. As far as reality TV, it’s compelling but not compelling enough. There are a lot more interesting Israeli reality TV shows — like “Viva la Diva,” which follows the life of the first trans Eurovision winner Dana International, and “Vort,” which follows Haredi matchmakers (I will write about both these shows in the future, I promise!). “Refealis” is a perfectly fine show to have on in the background. But maybe that’s what “The Kardashians” is, ultimately, too.

Let us know in the comments — who do you think are the Jewish Kardashians? What Jewish family would you want to see a reality TV show about? Do you remember Bar and Leo? Is this couch potato pancake thing working?