In spite of the difficulties facing new immigrants, there are some inspiring success stories.
Take Yana Khodyrker, formerly of Ukraine. In Israel just two years, Khodyrker is already a well-known face throughout the country.
In March, the comely university student was named Miss Israel 1993, and on May 21 she will represent the country at the Miss Universe Contest in Mexico City.
The 20-year-old from Kiev beat out more than 2,000 hopeful young applicants to win the Miss Israel Contest, which was organized by the women’s magazine La Isha.
“When friends of mine suggested I enter the contest, I didn’t take it very seriously, but I thought it would be fun,” Khodyrker said during a Tel Aviv photo shoot last month.
“But really, I didn’t expect to win,” she maintained.
By international standards, the prizes awarded to Miss Israel are quite modest: Khodyrker received a red sports car, clothes and other gifts, but no money or scholarships.
During her year as the reigning Miss Israel, she is contractually required to appear in advertisements for several of the contest’s sponsors, such as Gottex bathing suits and Ellen Betrix cosmetics.
This year, more than 2,000 young women entered the contest, says Daniella Shapira, an editor at La Isha. Of these, 30 became finalists.
According to Shapira, the contest is open to all single Israeli women, age 17 and up. After filling out a form, the editors invite the applicants to come in for an interview.
During the interview, the applicants are required to wear bathing suits “so that the judges can see the girl’s figure,” Shapira said.
ORTHODOX AND ARABS GENERALLY DON’T COMPETE
“The contest is open to all Israeli citizens, regardless of religion. But since most religious Jewish girls, and the majority of Arab girls, will not don a bathing suit in public, they do not compete in the contest,” Shapira said.
Arab women wishing to enter a pageant may enter the Miss Arab World Contest, which has a more modest dress code.
In their search for Miss Israel, the judges take many factors into consideration, said Shapira.
“The girls must have a pretty face, a good figure, and be at least 1 meter, 70 in height (5 feet, 6 inches). She must be at least a high-school senior, with plans to serve in the army or Sherut Leumi (National Service).
“She must also have good grades, engage in extracurricular activities and do volunteer service to those in need.”
The contest and its criteria have drawn harsh criticism from women’s advocacy groups, which maintain that beauty contests demean women by casting them as sexual objects.
“I very much object to these kinds of contests on the grounds that they focus on a woman’s body at the expense of her other attributes,” said Anat Hoffman, who monitors the image of women in the media for the Israel Women’s Network.
“The judges rank the contestants according to a rigid formula of beauty that few women conform to. Winners must be very tall, very thin and have very little body hair. And it helps to be blond.
“Look at this year’s winner. She looks just like a Barbie Doll. Is this the image Israel wants to convey to the world?” Hoffman asked.
Khodyrker declined to comment on the charges against the contest, preferring instead to concentrate on the job at hand: a beauty shoot for the Betrix cosmetics firm.
In a small room at the back of the Ben Lamm photo studio, Khodyrker studied English as a makeup artist fussed over her blond locks and searing blue eyes.
She then slid into the clothes chosen for her: a sexy midriff top and safari shorts.
She was a bit stiff as she posed before the camera and conceded that she was still “a bit nervous doing modeling shoots. Before winning the contest I had never done a modeling job, so this is all very new to me,” she said in fluent Hebrew.
“I know this is a little hard to believe, but entering a beauty pageant was the last thing on my mind when I came on aliyah with my parents and younger brother two years ago.
“I was a first-year chemistry major in Kiev when we moved to Israel, and I’m majoring in biology at Tel Aviv University. These days, I try to juggle my studies with my modeling.”
Juggling the two is sometimes difficult, she admitted.
“It’s hectic right now, with my class work and the modeling jobs, but I’m determined to finish university and get my degree,” she said.
“When I won the contest, my parents told me, ‘We’re proud of you, but getting your degree is more important than modeling, and we expect you to find a balance.'”
“Yana definitely has a future as a model,” said Ben Lamm, the photographer. “She is very beautiful, and she has all the qualities it takes to be a successful model: great eyes, a beautiful body, graceful hands. Most important, she has brains and she’s nice to work with.”
Khodyrker blushed when she heard this.
“It’s easy to get swept away by this kind of talk, but I’m determined to keep a steady head and to remember how difficult it was in the beginning, when we first arrived in Israel.”
After two years in the country, she said, “I’m finally starting to feel at home. It took a while, but my family has finally sorted things out. My parents are working, and we just purchased an apartment in Rishon le-Zion. We’ve learned the language, and things are getting easier.”
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