Yitayish Ayenew: From ‘scared child’ to Miss Israel

OHMYGOSSIP —  Yitayish Ayenew, the first black Miss Israel and also the first woman of Ethiopian heritage to win the crown. 

When Yitayish “Titi” Ayenew, the first black Miss Israel, was a young orphan who moved from Ethiopia to Israel, it was learning the Hebrew language that turned around her fortunes.

“Then, I was a scared child,” Ayenew, 22, told students at Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County, NJ. “I did not know what would be my future, or that I would do the things I am doing today. For me, an inner change occurred when I overcame the obstacle of learning Hebrew. I am in control of my destiny — everything is possible. My life is entirely different, both because of the things I have done and now, knowing what I want to do.”

Crowned Miss Israel in February, Ayenew, the first woman from Ethiopia to hold the title, said in an interview with JNS.org, “Being Miss Israel is a responsibility I take seriously.”

Ayenew grew up in a Zionist family in Ethiopia. “We always felt we belonged in Israel and were eager to get there,” she told the Solomon Schechter students. Ayenew’s grandparents immigrated to Israel in 2000, and her parents had expected to join them, but both of them died. Ten-year-old Yitayish and her brother were cared for by their aunt, and two years later, they arrived in Israel with the help of the Jewish Agency for Israel. They lived with their grandmother in Netanya.

Asked to recall her thoughts upon arriving in Israel, Ayenew told the students, “The first thing I wanted was to learn Hebrew, and of course to get to my grandmother’s home. It was challenging for me and for all the other olim (immigrants).  Remember, I was speaking Amharic and had to learn Hebrew quickly and well—inside and out!”

Author: Maxine Dovere, JNS.org
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