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Bethan McKernan
Nov 26, 2015
Israel held its third annual 'Miss Holocaust Survivor' beauty pageant on Tuesday.
Sarah Israel, 85, has her hair doneStela Krashes, 85, getting her eye make-up done in preparation for the showThe event, designed to boost the participants' self-esteem, involved all the competitors donning their gladrags and getting their hair and make up done...
Judith Rosenzweig, 81, has her make-up doneNail varnish is applied to the hands of one of the competitors backstageRivka Kushnir, 85, chooses what make-up to wear2014 winner Hava Hershkovitz, 82, has her make-up done during preparations... before stepping on stage for an evening filled with moving stories of survival and a strut down the catwalk.
Holocaust survivors waiting backstageLinda Ruben, 82, takes to the runwayJudith Rosenzweig, 81, (R) and Rivka Shtanger, 74, (L) on the catwalkReigning queen Hava Hershkovitz lost her crown to newcomer Rita Berkowitz, 83.
Rita Berkowitz, 83, is announced as the winnerBerkowitz, originally from Romania, is a mother of one, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of five. When she was crowned queen she told the crowd:
...all Jews from all across the world will come [to Israel], all of them. And we shall be stronger. We are not afraid of anyone. The Jew will never disappear from the world.
The pageant was organised by Helping Hand, a charity which helps the 200,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel.
Rivka Kushnir, 85, waits backstageAll pictures: Reuters
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