A woman's beauty cannot ever be tarnished by even the grimmest experiences. Decades after the horrifying cruelty of the Nazis during WWII, the women Haifa, Israel: Victims of War before, Beauty Queens today.
Rita Berkowitz, 83, is crowned the 3rd Miss Holocaust Survivor on November 24, 2015, beating 13 other contestants in their battle for the "most striking" senior citizen that survived the Nazi genocide on Northern Israel during the war.
The contestants went through the whole beauty pageant experience from having their hair and make up done and walking down the runway. In the end, Berkowitz was given the title for her inspiring story of strength and beauty that is visible through the years.
Winners are determined by a panel of four judges-three former beauty queens and a psychiatrist that specializes in helping Holocaust survivors continue with their lives.
The pageant is being annually organized by an evangelical group called the International Christian Embassy, in collaboration with a charity that provides for the Holocaust survivors. According to them, the goal of the said event is to boost the self esteem of the women, by "bringing a touch of glamour to their lives". It also serves as means of generating funds for the needs of the other 2,000 genocide survivors in Israel.
Critics have raised their eyebrows on the controversial event. Some are not convinced with the aim of the contest, saying that it only capitalizes on and relives the horrors of the survivors. Collete Avital, chairwoman of Israel's Holocaust survivors' group, is one of them. "I am in favour of enriching lives, but a one-time pageant masquerading survivors with beautiful clothes is not what is going to make their lives more meaningful," Avital stated.
But, after winning the first Miss Holocaust Survivor pageant back in 2012, Hava Hershkovitz said that "we're all doing it to show that we're still alive."
