Yityish Aynaw, 22, was part of a gala dinner hosted by Shimon Peres,
Israel’s president during Mr Obama’s Middle East trip. She recently
became the first Israeli of Ethiopian origin to win Israel’s premier
beauty queen contest.
When asked about the US president, she replied, “He’s an exciting man, a
world-class hunk, charming and an extraordinary gentleman.”
She added that she did not think Michelle Obama, the First Lady, would be jealous.
Mr Obama reportedly told Ms Aynaw: “You are very beautiful … Michelle would have been very happy to be as tall as you are.”
Ms Aynaw, who emigrated to Israel from Ethiopia with her Jewish
grandparents after the death of her mother when she was 12, earlier this
month said Mr Obama was a role model “who broke down barriers, a source
of inspiration”.
At 22 years old, Aynaw was working as a sales clerk when a friend entered her name into Israel’s beauty pageant.
She has lived in Israel since she was 10, when she was orphaned and went to live with her grandparents.
She recalled going to an Israeli boarding school without knowing a word
of Hebrew and said some of the kids there made fun of her Ethiopian
name.
‘What is “Yitayish?” This is my name. but it sounds weird,’ she told
reporter in an interview. ‘There were times they’d call me “Tayish.” In
Hebrew that’s a kind of animal. You know?’ More than a quarter of all
Israeli TV viewers watched Aynaw, who became an army officer after
graduation; win her crown a couple weeks ago.
‘It’s time that someone from my community, someone with my skin
color, who is Israeli just like everyone else, represent the country,’
she said. ‘I feel like I made history, that I blazed a trail.’
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