Yityish Titi Aynaw
Aynaw in 2017
Born
Yityish Aynaw

(1991-06-23) 23 June 1991
Gondar, Ethiopia
EducationIDC Herzliya
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMiss Israel 2013
Hair colorBlack
Eye colorBrown
Major
competition(s)		Miss Israel 2013
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2013
(Unplaced)

Yityish "Titi" Aynaw (Hebrew: טיטי איינאו; Amharic: ይታይሽ አየነው; born 23 June 1991) is an Israeli model, television personality, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Israel 2013. She is the first Ethiopian Jew and Israeli of African heritage to win the contest.[1][2] As Miss Israel, Aynaw represented Israel at the Miss Universe 2013 competition, although she did not place.

Early life and education

Aynaw was born in Gondar Province in Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian-Jewish family belonging to the Beta Israel community.[3] In Ethiopia, the family was poor but Aynaw recalls her childhood being "often happy".[4] Shortly after her birth, Aynaw's father died and her mother later died as well when Aynaw was ten years old.[5][4] Now an orphan, Aynaw and her brother Yellek made Aliyah to Israel to live with their grandparents when she was twelve years old, settling in Netanya.[6][5]

After arriving in Israel, Aynaw struggled with assimilation to Israeli culture and learning to speak Hebrew; however, she later began excelling.[7][3][8] In school, Aynaw served as class president, competed in track and field, and won a national student filmmaking competition.[3][5] After graduating from Kfar HaNoar HaDati, Aynaw began her mandatory enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces, serving as a lieutenant in the Israeli Military Police Corps.[4] After completing her service, Aynaw worked in a clothing store in Netanya.[3] She later attended the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Herzliya.[9]

Career

Aynaw began her pageantry career after a friend had registered her for the Miss Israel 2013 competition; at the time, Aynaw had no modeling experience.[3][8] She went on to win the competition in February 2013, and received massive national and international recognition for being the first African Israeli woman to be crowned Miss Israel.[3][5] Her win was seen by many from the Beta Israel community as a positive sign for the representation of black Jews and specifically Ethiopian Jews in Israel. While reigning as Miss Israel, Aynaw raised awareness for the difficulty of Ethiopian Jews to make Aliyah to Israel, and helped several of her relatives come to Israel after having their immigration requests denied numerous times.[10]

Aynaw at the Miss Universe 2013 that took place in Moscow

Following her win, Aynaw was invited by Barack Obama to attend a gala with Shimon Peres; Obama expressed admiration for Aynaw and referred to her as a "role model".[2][11] As Miss Israel, Aynaw represented Israel in the Miss Universe 2013 competition held in Moscow, Russia; she ultimately did not place in the competition. Aynaw was later named the 39th most influential Jew of 2013 by The Jerusalem Post.[12] After completing her reign, Aynaw crowned Mor Maman as her successor at the Miss Israel 2014 competition in March 2014.[13][14]

In 2015, Aynaw competed as a celebrity contestant on Survivor: Honduras, the seventh season of the Israeli edition of the Survivor franchise. She went on to place as the season's runner up, behind Liron "Tiltil" Orfali.[15] In 2016, Aynaw began work on establishing a community arts education center in Netanya to serve at-risk youth.[16]

Personal life

She resides in Netanya, Israel.

Aynaw stated in an interview that she wanted to work in the fashion industry, be a role model for her community, and to have a "big family" and "give my kids the experience I never had".[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kalman, Aaron (2013-02-28). "Miss Israel is Ethiopian immigrant". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  2. 1 2 Tait, Robert (2013-03-13). "Barack Obama to dine with first black Miss Israel". Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sara Sidner; Earl Nurse (12 June 2013). "ityish Aynaw: The first black Miss Israel". CNN International. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Shalev, Chemi (13 June 2013). "Israel's Ethiopian beauty queen wows a stylish New York audience". Haaretz. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Meet Israel's Blunt, Bold Ethiopian-Born Beauty Queen". Tablet Magazine. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  6. ↑ "Yityish Aynaw: First black Miss Israel will go to the ball". BBC Magazine. 21 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "Yityish Aynaw: First black Miss Israel will go to the ball - BBC News". BBC News. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  8. 1 2 "Black Jew Yityish Aynaw Crowned Miss Israel 2013". International Business Times UK. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  9. ↑ "Israel". Miss Universe Organization. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. ↑ Futterman, Don (2013-04-12). "Israel's Ethiopian Beauty Queen Sparks Debate". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-05-28.
  11. ↑ Sterman, Adiv (2013-03-13). "Why Obama is Miss Israel's 'role model'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  12. ↑ "Top 50 most influential Jews 2013". Jpost. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Newly Crowned 'Miss Israel' Mor Maman Brings New Jersey Crowd to Tears". Algemeiner.com. Archived from the original on 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  14. ↑ Ari, Dalia Ben (5 March 2014). "Mor Maman crowned Miss Israel 2014". Ynetnews. Ynet News.
  15. ↑ "Official Survivor Israel website". Reshet. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  16. ↑ "Miss Israel — aka 'Titi' — takes a Los Angeles tour | Hollywood Jew". Jewish Journal. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
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