Miss Israel 2013...After The Fact

ד' לחודש הראשון תשע"ג

Jonathan Pollard

Miss Israel 2013, Yityish Aynaw, says that she will tell U. S. President Obama that he should release Jonathan Pollard, who has been sitting in prison for over 27 years, having been convicted of espionage. Most of those convicted of the same crimes would have been released after five. But, Israel was involved, so double standards apply.

Needless to say, there are plenty of facts about this case which have yet to be revealed. Some are concerned for Pollard's safety when released. I believe that there are those who would rather not risk having Pollard walking around AND TALKING too freely. Why, Israeli President Shimon Peres might even be one of those people. But, of course, that's just speculation.

Here is Miss Israel 2013 talking about it.

Of Miss Israel 2013, Ariel Ben Yochanan of The Torah Revolution wrote:

 - Dark or white skinned, I would hope that Jewish women choose the Jewish way, modesty, rather than exhibiting themselves to show their outstanding beauties.

This attempted talkback on the YNET news piece below didn't pass the censors muster,...as one might imagine with YNET.

I agree with Ariel wholeheartedly. I am against the Miss Israel Pageant. I am against beauty pageants. At this point, I would generally make a comment about how hard it is to find a radical feminist when you need one. But, who knows? One radical feminist just might apologize for the Miss Israel Pageant, since the winner this year is a "of color."

But, I digress....

Ethiopian Olah Crowned Miss Israel 2013
Former IDF officer Yityish (Titi) Aynaw, 21, is first Ethiopian-born woman to win Israeli beauty pageant. 'There are many colors in Israel and it's important to show it to the world,' she says on stage

Dalia Neuman, February 28, 2013

Yityish (Titi) Aynaw, 21, of Netanya, was crowned Miss Israel 2013 on Wednesday night. She is the first Ethiopian-born woman who has won the beauty pageant.

In response to a question by one of the contest's judges, the new beauty queen said: "It's important to have a first (beauty) queen from the Ethiopian community. Israel has many ethnic groups and many colors, and it's important to show it to the world."

Her remark received a warm round of applause from the audience at the Haifa Congress Center.

Yityish, which means "a look to the future" Amharic, served as an officer in the IDF and now runs a fashion store. She immigrated to Israel at the age of 12.

"My aliyah was pretty tough," she said. "A new language, a modern society. I'm lucky to have had a friend, Noa, who befriended me from the start and helped me out. I didn't study in a ulpan. I was thrown into the deep water and learned the best that way." (I know some Americans, with and without trust funds, who could and should take a lesson from her!)

Asked during the competition which historical character had influenced her the most, she mentioned Martin Luther King: "He fought for justice and equality, and that's one of the reasons I'm here – to show that there are also good things in my community, which are not presented in the media. (Martin Luther King's inspiration makes much more sense to me than that of President Obama's. My guess is that Miss Israel isn't up on the latest [real] American news about the President.)


"I see it as a mission to represent Israel's different colors. There are not enough dark-skinned models in Israel.

"I hope to become a successful model thanks to the contest and create a change in the perception of dark-skinned models. I would be happy to be the first Ethiopian television host, an Israeli Tyra Banks."

Well, this woman certainly bright, and knows to "work it," as one might say in Hollywood. There's no doubt about that. In fact she sounds like she was born in Hollywood, save for the art of subtlety, a requirement to making it to the top in Hollywood, and then staying there. Israelis have never seemed to master that. Israeli celebrities take note. (A-hem!)

So, I may be against beauty pageants. But, if Yityish Aynaw, Miss Israel 2013 manages to use her title and developing status and connections for good,...like telling President Obama what to do, then more power to her!