New Delhi: The annual Israeli beauty pageant crowned an 86-year-old holocaust survivor as ‘Miss Holocaust Survivor’ on Tuesday, reported Reuters.
Selina Steinfeld, the 86-year-old great-grandmother was born in Romania and witnessed the Nazi atrocities as a child. “I have no words to express my happiness,” she told AP. She said she had enjoyed the special day of pampering and that she hoped “to lead the people of Israel to beauty and goodness, reported AP.
The annual beauty pageant is organised to honour the survivors of the genocide which claimed the lives of six million jews. There were 10 contestants in this year’s pageant ranging in age from 79 to 90.
Another contestant Kuka Palmon told Reuters, “After what I went through in the Holocaust, I never dreamed that I could get to where I am, with a big family: two kids, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.” Palmon had survived a Nazi pogrom in her native Romania.
According to an AP report, the beauty pageant is organised by “Yad Ezer L’Haver,” or “Helping Hand,” a foundation that serves holocaust survivors. The event was put on hold last year due to coronavirus.
While some argue that the event demeans the memory of those who died, others see it as an honour for the survivors.
“These amazing women, Holocaust survivors, are already in their twilight years and will not be here with us for much longer,” said Shimon Sabag, the foundation’s chief executive. “Holocaust survivors are the true heroines of us all and thanks to them, we are here today,” Sabag told AP.