Category: Jewish World

The Miss Israel pageant has made history this week something you rarely expect from a competition that has been going on for sixty-three-years. 21-year old, Yityish Aynaw, has been crowned the first miss Israel of Ethiopian heritage. Less than twenty-four-hours after her crowning we got to be the first international crew to interview her.

Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:

The Miss Israel pageant has made history this week something you rarely expect from a competition that has been going on for 63-years. 21-year old, Yityish Aynaw, has been crowned the first miss Israel of Ethiopian heritage. Less than 24-hours after her crowning we got to be the first international crew to interview her.

And with this announcement Yityish’s life has changed forever… she has in one minute gone from a beautiful girl from Netanya to a symbol for a whole community, a role model and pride for the over 100,000 members of the Ethiopian immigrants in Israel.

Only a few short hours after her triumphant evening, Yityish was already busy shooting her first magazine cover as Miss Israel for the number one women’s magazine in the country, LaYisha. Slightly overwhelmed of all that has happened to her in the last 24-hours we got to be the first international crew to interview her, as she started to realize that in order to stand in front of an international audience she desperately needs to improve her English…

Yityish Aynaw, Miss Israel 2013:
I was in shock, and it was an unbelievable feeling. And my family is very excited, I am the first queen Ethiopian in Israel it was amazing. I feel very excited to be the first Ethiopian Miss Israel, its history for me.

Although Yityish wasn’t even on the top three girls the polls have predicted would win the pageant, it was her personal story that captured the judges hearts at the evening of the competition.

Yityish Aynaw, Miss Israel 2013:
I made Aaliya (Immigration) and I believe the Jews of the world should be in Israel. It’s our country.
When I came in Israel, my grandpa was here before and he helped me to get used to Israel. It was hard.

And of course no Israeli success story can be complete without a true army anecdote as the cherry on the icing.

Yityish Aynaw, Miss Israel 2013:
It was amazing to me to be an officer in the military police in Zahal (Israeli Army). It changed my life and to be here also.

Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
Israel is embracing the new Miss Israel with a lot of love as all the headlines already herald her as Queen Titi, her nickname from home. Now we will have to wait and see how the first black Israeli beauty queen will fair once she enters the international stage at the Miss Universe pageant.
For JN1, I am Ron Jacobsohn in Tel-Aviv.

As every year when Purim comes upon us, the main task is to find the most original costume to make you stand out. We went to one of the biggest custom designers in Tel-Aviv to find out what are the trends of Purim 2013.
Turns out the two days of Purim are huge moneymakers that are worth millions to the local industry.

Chances are that when you received your flower bouquet for Valentines Day, the flowers in them were from Israel.  Over 30-Million Israeli flowers hit flower shops around Europe for the holidays.
And one very interesting factoid about the flowers from Israel, with the growing number of flower growers in the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli distribution companies have become their lifeline to sell their products internationally.

Just before you enter the Auschwitz Concentration Camp you get a real “reality check”! There stands a mall with a H&M, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Shawarma Restaurant. The place that once stood for death and destruction is now fruitful ground for retail.
As you pass through the camp you can not forget for a moment how helpless the Jewish people were just over sixty-years ago and how from the ashes of Auschwitz a nation of survivors raised that now can hold its own ground with the biggest and worst on the planet.
It is impossible not to think what those people who were here during the Holocaust felt on those cold winter days, we were here with coats but they had nothing. I am a third generation Auschwitz survivor, my grandmother, Nadia, was here, and I feel today like I have triumphed, like the Jewish people have triumphed.