“I’m proud to see Playboy Israel embark on its mission to play an important role in strengthening freedom of speech, freedom of choice and freedom of the press,” Hefner said in a message prerecorded for the magazine’s launch party. “I am equally pleased that so many of the core values of the magazine are also the core values of the country and the society that has so graciously invited us to be a part of its cultural landscape.”The Hebrew magazine published six issues before suffering heavy losses and closing within the year.