An Israeli billionaire heiress is facing criticism for secretly paying celebrities to participate in her social media campaign to promote Orthodox Jewish rules on “family purity”, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Ruthy Leviev-Yelizarov, the daughter of Russian-Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev, has donated thousands of shekels to non-practicing Israeli celebrities to participate in her religious campaign, the newspaper said.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the “She’asani Isha” project aimed to raise awareness of “niddah,” referring to the status in Jewish law of a married woman who is menstruating.

According to Jewish religious laws on family purity, a woman who becomes “niddah” is considered impure. The laws say she is forbidden to touch her husband until his period ends, and she is made pure by immersing herself in a mikveh – a Jewish ritual bath.

Celebrities including TV host Yael Bar-Zohar, MasterChef Israel mentor Michal Ansky and reality TV star Shay Mika have featured in “She’asani Isha” campaign videos.

In videos, The Jerusalem Post reported that Bar-Zohar and Mika talked about wanting to visit the mikvehs and follow the rules surrounding the niddah.

According to the newspaper, Bar Zohar received up to 50,000 Israeli shekels ($14,103) for his participation in the campaign. Ansky received a similar amount, the newspaper reported. And Mika received up to 20,000 Israeli shekels ($5,638) for his involvement, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Insider was unable to contact Leviev-Yelizarov for comment, but during an Israeli TV interview she said celebrities should be paid for participating in such campaigns.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, she said: “Everything that happens today starts with internet stars. It doesn’t matter if it’s a product, a yogurt or whatever. else. We paid them the way they’re supposed to be paid.”

Leviev-Yelizarov is the daughter of Lev Leviev, a Russian-Israeli billionaire, who gained international attention after the “Tinder Swindler” impersonated her son. Leviev made his fortune as a diamond tycoon and was a major financial backer of the ultra-Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.