Yityish Titi Aynaw, first Ethiopian-born crowned Miss Israel 2013 

Yityish Titi Aynaw, 21, has become the first Ethiopian-born woman to win the Miss Israel pageant. She was crowned Miss Israel 2013 on Wednesday night at the International Convention Center, Haifa.

The Times of Israel reports Aynaw came to Israel with her family when she was 12. She was entered into the competition by a friend. 

Explaining that she had no previous modeling experience, she said she hoped to go into modelling to "change attitudes to dark-skinned models." She said: "I’d love to become the first Israeli (TV) host, the Tyra Banks of Israel."

Ynet News reports that responding to a question by one of the judges, she 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."

She reportedly received a warm applause from the audience at the remark.

According to Ynet News, Yityish served as an officer in the IDF during her military service. She now manages a fashion store.

The Times of Israel reports she said integration into Israeli society was facilitated by the fact that she had been "thrown into the deep end" by being enrolled in the state school system rather than placed in a Ethiopians-only classes.

Ynet News reports said: "My aliyah was pretty tough, 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 (Ethiopian-only class). I was thrown into the deep water and learned the best that way."

When she was asked which historical character had influenced her the most, she said 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. 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."

She also said she hopes "to represent all Israelis" as Miss Israel, and not only the Ethiopian-Israeli community. She said she would be honored to represent Israel in an international pageant, saying it would portray Israel positively to have an Ethiopian-born beauty queen.

Ynet News explains that her name Yityish, means "a look to the future" in the Amharic language of Ethiopia.

MSN Now comments that Aynaw's victory is symbolic and moving because "Ethiopian immigrants arriving in Israel have had a complicated relationship with their adopted home, often enduring hostility and discrimination."

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