The first black Miss Israel denounced Black Lives Matter in an Instagram post and called out the left-wing group’s leadership for showing support for Hamas in the wake of the terrorist organization’s barbaric attack on Israel this month.
Yityish “Titi” Aynaw, 32, who won the Miss Israel crowd in 2013 and whose celebrity status saw her meet then-President Barack Obama that same year, specifically referenced the BLM rallying cry “I can’t breathe,” which became a slogan after the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.
“I am so shocked by Black Lives Matter’s response to the terrorist attacks here in Israel. I remember you shouting in the street, ‘I can’t breathe.’ I want to inform you right now… (they are Israelis) who cannot breathe.”
Aynaw brought up the Israeli victims, namely women, children and babies, as well as those who were held hostage.
Last week, a Chicago-based Black Lives Matter group posted an image that appeared to support Hamas’ horrific actions.
In her emotional video, Yityish Aynaw used Black Lives Matter’s rallying cry, “I can’t breathe,” saying it’s now “Israelis who can’t breathe.”
They were kidnapped, raped by the terrorist organization Hamas… slaughtering their souls. Hamas is ISIS. Pray for us,” she added
‘They were kidnapped, raped by the terrorist organization Hamas… slaughtering their souls. Hamas is ISIS. Pray for us. Pray for Israel because we can’t breathe,” the beauty queen added in her intense video message.
Aynaw emigrated from Ethiopia at the age of 12 and rose through the ranks of the Israeli army to become an officer before being crowned Miss Israel.
In an interview with the New York Post, Aynaw doubled down on her Instagram statement. “These groups, BLM, need to get their facts,” she said.
“People need to learn who they really support, what they are doing to their own people, let alone the Jews. They are not interested in saving lives. There are no human rights (in Hamas). They are killing their own people – they are also killing Muslims, Bedouins serving in the army,” she added.
‘The situation here in Israel is so bad. We really haven’t experienced anything like this since the Holocaust,” the beauty queen continued.
“They have no idea that there are black Jewish people here – a huge community of Ethiopians who also live here. Many officers and soldiers are black and fight for their country, Israel, Aynaw added.
After winning the Miss Israel crown, Aynaw was so famous that she met with then-President Barack Obama in 2013 as Nobel laureate Shimon Peres looked on.
Aynaw (C), 21 years old, stands with other contestants during the swimsuit portion of the Miss Israel 2013 beauty pageant in Haifa
At the age of 22, Aynaw was working as a sales associate when a friend entered her name in the Israeli beauty pageant.
She has lived in Israel since she was ten, when she became an orphan and went to live with her grandparents.
She recalled going to an Israeli boarding school without knowing a word of Hebrew, and said some children there made fun of her Ethiopian name.
‘What is ‘Yitayish’? This is my name. but it sounds weird,” she told reporter Daniel Estrin in an interview. ‘There were times when they called me ‘Tayish’. In Hebrew it is a kind of animal. You know?’
“It’s time for someone from my community, someone with my skin color, who is Israeli like everyone else, to represent the country,” she said. “I feel like I’ve made history, that I’ve paved a path.”
In 2013, Aynaw made international headlines when she was pictured with Obama at a state dinner in Jerusalem as part of a four-day visit.
After dinner, Aynaw talked about his meeting with Obama in an interview with the Israeli publication Yediot Aharonot.
“He is an exciting man, a world-class hunk, charming and an extraordinary gentleman,” she said.
Aynaw and Obama were introduced by Israeli President Shimon Peres.
“You are very beautiful,” Obama told her, according to Israeli media. “And Michelle would have been thrilled to be as tall as you.”
Aynaw said she remembers learning about Obama in high school.
“I did a research project on him in high school and I know that he is a very powerful man, charismatic, and that he achieved a lot on his own due to the fact that he believed in himself, and this has stayed with me,” she said. CNN.