World surfer champion Kelly Slater detained in Israel

Wow, this is interesting. As a long time fan of Cocoa Beach resident, Kelly Slater I was shocked to hear that he was detained in Jerusalem for his involvement in a brawl that broke out in a bar. According to the Associated Press, Police detained eight-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater early Saturday after a scuffle with photographers who were trying to take pictures of him with an Israeli supermodel, police said.

Israeli photographers were waiting outside as the American surfer and model Bar Rafaeli left a hotel in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya before dawn Saturday, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Slater pushed the cameramen in an effort to prevent them from taking pictures, a photographer at the scene told Channel Two TV.

"A brawl broke out and Slater was taken for questioning and later released," Rosenfeld said.

It was not the first time foreign guests of Rafaeli have scuffled with journalists. Earlier this year, Rafaeli and her then-boyfriend, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, created a media storm when he visited her in Israel.

After eluding journalists for days, the pair was met by a group of waiting photographers when they toured Jerusalem. Their bodyguards scuffled with photographers, punching some and damaging equipment.

Rafaeli later told an Israeli newspaper she wouldn't bring anyone famous to Israel "because there is a chutzpah here that you won't see anywhere else."

Slater, who is of Syrian descent, was visiting Israel for the first time as part of efforts by the group "Surfing for Peace" to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians through the sport.

Kelly Slater of Cocoa Beach is the most successful professional surfer in the history of the sport. Slater is an eight time world champion and has been sponsored by Quiksilver since 1990. He competed in the X-Games in 2003 and 2004. In May 2005 in the final of the Billabong Tahiti Pro contest at Teahupoo, Slater became the first to score two perfect rides for a total 20 out of 20 ASP two-wave scoring system (the corresponding honour under the previous three-wave system belongs to Shane Beschen from 1996). In 2006 Slater tied Tom Curren for most career tour victories, 34, at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, then in September of 2007 he passed Tom Curren by winning the Boost Mobile Pro at Trestles.