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| Miss Israel - Yityish Aynaw |
An article in the Forward cites an Israeli journalist that actually
asks the question about whether Yityish Aynaw deserved to win the title Miss
Israel. I don’t think that question has ever been asked before about any other
winner of that title. No matter what she looked like. Why did he ask it here?
Can anyone guess? Well, just in case you hadn’t noticed, the color of her skin
is black. Here is what he said:
“I think it is really great that an Ethiopian-born woman won our national beauty pageant, I really do. If she were also beautiful it would have been even better”.
Right! He thinks it’s great! And some of his best friends are…
What a disgusting comment! It is truly sickening when skin color becomes an issue in
any circumstance. To say that someone who won a contest is not really all that beautiful
but was chosen for political reasons in only this case is an insult to both the
winner and to an entire race of people.
It is also an insult to me and to anyone
with any sense of human dignity. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That
this journalist doesn’t think she is beautiful may in fact be true. Maybe he doesn't. I will even grant that beauty pageants are political and winners are chosen for reasons other
than physical beauty.
But this has always been true. And yet I don’t ever recall anyone
saying that a beauty contest winner in Israel was not beautiful enough to have
won. To do so now seems to show a certain degree of racism that is deeply
buried in the unconscious mind of that journalist. He probably isn’t even aware
of his own racial bias. Or… maybe he is and is disguising it by putting it in
political terms.
Israel has recently been accused of racist tactics with respect
to its Ethiopian immigrants. I don’t know how true that is. Although there is racism among some of its citizens as was pointed out last month by an op-ed in Ynet. But when journalist
post messages like this on his Facebook page I think it exposes a certain
degree of it. Even if it is only in the unconscious mind.
The unconscious mind dictates a lot of how humankind behaves.
Decisions are often made that are racially biased and yet not realized as such
by the decision makers.
I do not mean to impugn Israel. They are not a racist state.
Far from it – despite accusations to the
contrary. No one has done more for the plight of Ethiopian Jewry than the State
of Israel. They have attempted mightily to mainstream these new immigrants and
have achieved a measure of success in doing so. The fact that Miss Israel was
an officer in the IDF at age 21 demonstrates that.
But the fact that there still exists this kind of subliminal
thinking seems to be true as well. When journalists question why a black woman won a beauty contest - even if it is disguised as referring only to this particular black woman - it impacts
on public opinion. I think that is sad. That he said it only on his Facebook page - perhaps thinking only his “Friends” would see it - makes it even sadder. That would mean he knew his comment wasn't all that Kosher.
I’m sure that there are many (hopefully most) Israelis that
do not have a prejudice bone in their bodies. But obviously there are some who
do have a bone or two in their bodies that is prejudiced
Those who do, like this journalist - need to work on their attitudes
and root out any and all prejudice whether conscious or not. It is the right
thing to do.
