‘I’m proud to be an Israeli Arab,’ says Ta’alin Abu Hanna, 21, from Nazareth. ‘If I had been in Palestine or in any other Arab country, I might have been in prison or murdered’
May 27, 2016, 10:56 pm 62
An Israeli from a Catholic Arab family was crowned the winner of the country’s first transgender pageant.
Ta’alin
Abu Hanna, 21, from the northern city of Nazareth, wore a white bridal
dress as she was declared the first “Miss Trans Israel” on Friday at
HaBima, Israel’s national theater, in Tel Aviv.
She described her victory as “historic” and said it promotes equality.
She will represent Israel at the Miss Trans
Star International pageant in Spain in August — the first time an
Israeli will participate.
She also will receive $15,000 worth of plastic
surgery treatments from a hospital in Thailand, plus airfare and a
hotel stay during the treatments and recovery.
Ta’alin Abu Hanna celebrates winning the Miss Trans Israel pageant on May 27, 2016. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)
An Israeli from a Catholic Arab family was crowned the winner of the country’s first transgender pageant.
Ta’alin
Abu Hanna, 21, from the northern city of Nazareth, wore a white bridal
dress as she was declared the first “Miss Trans Israel” on Friday at
HaBima, Israel’s national theater, in Tel Aviv.
She described her victory as “historic” and said it promotes equality.
She will represent Israel at the Miss Trans
Star International pageant in Spain in August — the first time an
Israeli will participate.
She also will receive $15,000 worth of plastic
surgery treatments from a hospital in Thailand, plus airfare and a
hotel stay during the treatments and recovery.
Ta’alin Abu Hanna celebrates winning the Miss Trans Israel pageant on May 27, 2016. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)
Israel is generally tolerant of gay people, and Tel Aviv has emerged as one of the world’s most gay-friendly destinations.
The Israeli city stands in sharp contrast to many parts of the Middle East, where gay people are often persecuted.
A Christian Arab-Israeli ballet dancer, Abu
Hanna told reporters she is “proud to be an Israeli Arab,” noting, “If I
had not been in Israel and had been elsewhere — in Palestine or in any
other Arab country — I might have been oppressed or I might have been in
prison or murdered.”
Abu Hanna beat out 11 other finalists, a
diverse group spanning Israel’s geographic, ethnic and religious
diversity, including a Russian, Muslims and residents of Beersheba,
Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At least one finalist grew up in the
haredi Orthodox community.
Miss Trans Israel finalist Maya Smadja prepares for the pageant in Tel Aviv, May 27, 2016. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)
Several finalists told reporters they had
struggled with the disapproval of family members — with some eventually
finding acceptance and others not. Caroline Khouri, of the Arab town of
Tamra, told NBC News her male relatives tried to murder her after
learning of her plans to transition from man to woman.
“My cousins, my father, my brother-in-law all
came and beat me and took me by force and cut my hair, tied me to the
bed and left me there for three days with no food,” she said. Rescued by
the police, the 24-year-old said she remains estranged from her family.
A formerly haredi Orthodox contestant, Aylin
Ben-Zaken, said she “looked like a rabbi” before her transition, and ran
away from home at age 15. But many in her family accept her now, she
said.
“Three years ago I didn’t talk to my mom. Now she loves me, and I go to Shabbat dinner,” the 27-year-old told NBC News.
Friday’s pageant consisted of a swimsuit competition, two formal-wear competitions and a question-and-answer portion.
a’alin Abu Hanna, shortly after winning the Miss Trans Israel pageant on May 27, 2016. (Luke Tress/Tim Israel
___________________________________________________
Asked about “pinkwashing,” the accusation that
Israel exploits its LGBT rights record as a PR coup to hide its alleged
abuses of Palestinians, pageant organizer Yisraela Stephani Lev said,
according to The Jerusalem Post: “Listen, there isn’t propaganda here.
We live in Tel Aviv, in Israel, the only sane country in the region
where people can live as gays or transgender and no one is going to
throw them off the rooftop or slaughter them. This is just the reality
here. It’s not some sort of brainwashing or pinkwashing or whatever.”
Lev said hundreds of trans women contacted her
“from Dan to Eilat, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Bedouin,” and that they
held three auditions beginning in March to select the finalists.
Criteria included not just physical beauty but a “sort of coexistence
and diversity,” Lev said, adding, “We are looking for coexistence,
because this is the beginning of peace.”
No comments:
Post a Comment