Miss Trans Israel

Miss Trans Israel is a beauty pageant for transgender people. It was first held in 2016 in Tel Aviv, when it was won by Talleen Abu Hanna. She represented the nation of Israel in the Miss Trans Star International beauty pageant, that was held in the city of Barcelona in 2016.[1]

Miss Trans Israel 2016

Miss Trans Israel Pageant was held on May 27, 2016 at Habima National Theater in Tel Aviv, Israel.[2] Eleven contestants from a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds competed for the title of the first ever Miss Trans Israel 2016.[3]

Auditions

On March 3, 2016 three rounds of auditions were held at the Theater Club in Jaffa for the 35 Trans women who wished to compete. Out of the nineteen participants who came to the auditions, eleven finalists were selected to compete in the final beauty pageant.

Pageant

To mark the beginning of pride week in Tel aviv, organizers and activists at the LGBT center produced for the first time in history, the Miss Trans Israel pageant held at Habima National Theatre.[3] The prize was $15,000 worth of plastic surgery procedures at the Kamol Cosmetic Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, including airfare and hotel accommodation, and donated by Dr. Kamol and Kamol hospital team. The event received international attention, with articles and videos in online newspapers such as CBS,[2] NBC,[4] The New York Times,[5] Boston Herald,[6] Business Insider,[7] Time magazine,[8] Jerusalem Post,[3] Haaretz,[9] The Times of India,[10] and Spanish El Mundo.[11] Contestants were asked to model a swimwear look, a casual dress, and a bridal gown, in addition to being asked questions about their fashion style.[3]

Production team
  • Executive Director: Israela Stephanie Lev
  • Producer: Shenhav Levy
  • Director of LGBT Center: Yuval Egart
  • Public Relations: Hanita Lev Ari
  • Show Director: Segev Gershon
  • Visual Media: Koby Ben Shoshan
  • Lighting: Noa Elran
  • Photographer: Eitan Tal
  • Artistic Review: Ilan Peled, Noya Aviv, and Sharon Haziz
  • Music: Yoav Arnon
  • Graphic Designer: Guy Kaminer
  • Styling: Gili Algabi
  • Costumes: Julie Vino
  • Make Up: Miki Buganim Academy
  • Hair: Davis and Udi Academy
  • Hosts: Gal Uchovsky and Sharon Haziz
  • Choreographer: Shay Susanna

Panel of judges
  • Efrat Tilma
  • Betty Rockaway
  • Shenhav Levy
  • Nicol Raidman
  • Vanessa Lopez
  • Ronan Ackerman

Guests of honor
  • Judy Nirmoses Shalom
  • Gadi Bar Lavi
  • Jesper Vahr, Denmark's ambassador to Israel
  • Gila Goldstein

Contestants

In a press release issued by the organizers and producers of the pageant, contestants were described as constituting "a true Israeli mosaic. With different backgrounds, communities, and faiths, they are an example of courage and tolerance."[3] Contestants came from all over Israel, they represented Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Bedouin, and Druze faiths, as well as Israeli, Arab, and Russian-Israeli ethnicities.[3] The eleven contestants were:

  • Talleen Abu Hanna
  • Elian Nasiel
  • Reem Or
  • Aylin Ben Zaken
  • Angelina Shamilov
  • Danielle Larnon
  • Maya Smadja
  • Almog Yehuda
  • Carolin Khoury
  • Madlen Matar
  • Shontal Israel

Winner

Talleen Abu Hanna was crowned the winner of the pageant, breaking historical boundaries and becoming the first ever Miss Trans Israel.[5] Abu Hanna is a ballet dancer, and a model, and now lives in Tel Aviv.[5] After her victory at Miss Trans Israel, Abu Hanna went on to win second place in the Miss Trans Star Internacional Beauty Pageant 2016 which was held in Barcelona on September 17.[12] She also appeared in the eighth season of the Israeli edition of Big Brother.[13]

Celebration of the Trans Community

For organizers, activists, contestants, and the LGBT community, the pageant was a celebration of acceptance in a region fraught with conflict and violence. Israel is arguably the only country in the Middle East where Trans people are free to live and express their true identities. Director, Israela Stephanie Lev was quoted in the Jerusalem Post saying: "We live in Israel, the only sane country in the region where people can live as gays or transgenders [sic] and no one is going to throw them off the rooftop or slaughter them."[3]

Miss Trans Israel 2017

Elian Nesiel from Bat Yam is the winner of the beauty pageant Miss Trans Israel 2017, and she represented the nation of Israel in the Miss Trans Star International 2017 beauty contest, that was held in the city of Barcelona.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Tallen Abu Hana, representará a Israel en Miss Trans" (in Spanish). La Razón. 13 September 2016.
  2. Kahana, Menahem (27 May 2016). "Contestants compete in Miss Trans Israel pageant". CBS News. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  3. Hartman, Ben (27 May 2016). "Israeli-Arab named first-ever 'Miss Trans Israel'". The Jerusalem Post. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  4. "Christians, Muslims, Jews Compete at Israel's 1st Transgender Pageant". NBC. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  5. Hadid, Diaa (29 July 2016). "A 'Seed of Hope' for Transgender People in Arab Communities". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  6. "Israeli Christian wins first 'Miss Trans Israel' pageant". Boston Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  7. "Israeli Christian wins first 'Miss Trans Israel' pageant". Business Insider. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  8. Schwartz, Yardena (31 May 2016). "Meet the Arab Woman Who Has Just Become the First Miss Trans Israel". Time Magazine. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  9. "Israeli Arab ballerina takes crown in Israel's first transgender beauty pageant". Haaretz. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  10. "Trangender [sic] beauties from three faiths vie for Israeli crown". Times of India. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  11. Emergui, Sal (28 May 2015). "Una árabe cristiana gana el primer concurso 'Miss Trans' en Israel [A Christian Arab wins the first Miss Trans Israel contest]". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  12. Bosque, Daniel (19 September 2016). "Israeli comes second in Miss Transsexual final". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  13. "Talin's profile". Endemol (in Hebrew). Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  14. www.awiderbridge.org/
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