By Orit
March 26, 2007
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Since I made aliyah, I have lost count of the number of times I have heard tourists comment: "Israelis are so stunning."
Tourism agencies long ago realised that the best way to promote Israel was through its hotties. It is no coincidence that last year, London was covered in images of lithe beauties in scanty bikinis on Tel Aviv beach. Israeli Nobel-prize laureates in economics, Israeli hi-tech and security inventions are all very good and well, but let us get real. It is the beauties who are going to convert the average testosterone-charged man to Zionism.
Now the fashion world too is waking up to Israeli beauty. Last month, voluptuous Israeli model Bar Refaeli was even featured in the exclusive swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, and the exquisite Esti Ginzburg was on the cover of French Elle.
But are Israelis as beautiful as everyone seems to think? And if so, does Israel have a higher than average enough concentration of beauties, male and female?
The Jewish tradition of attractive women goes back to Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Esther -- the Bible describes them all as "fair to look upon". But the mythical Israeli beauty has its roots firmly in modernity.
When the state was founded, refugees from European and Arab countries converged on this small plot of Jewish land. Eventually, the curly-haired, olive-skinned Iraqi and Moroccan women began to marry pale, blue-eyed Polish Jews, and the resulting children were rare, exotic beauties. More recently, Russian and Ethiopian immigrant femmes have enriched the "hot" pool even further. I have yet to see the product of a Russian-Ethiopian union -- but I wager that it will be some hot combination.
Its ethnic mix also gives the impression that Israel is replete with studs and studettes, when, really, there is simply something for everyone. Opposites attract, right? The dark Sephardic woman will turn the heads of blond Europeans, and the Moroccan Jew might drool over the cute, blue-eyed Ashkenazi. Jews from conservative communities abroad might drool over everybody: on the liberal and trendy streets of Tel Aviv, fashion-mad Israelis show no shred of Jewish restraint in their tight, stylish tanks and jeans. Do not believe men when they tell you they made aliyah for the Zionism...
Still, Zionism has always been about liberation of Jews, in more ways than one. There is something very sexy about breaking out of the ghetto and discovering your body, strength, and physicality. The new Jews who came to the fledgling country cast off their shtetl skirts, donned khakis, and got tanned and toned in the battlefields and agricultural fields (where they probably ate plenty of healthy Israeli salad). Today every young Israeli is required to do army service -- which not only keeps them fit, but adds to their sex appeal. Women, who also train as officers, learn early on how to hold a machine gun and turn on the dominatrix effect.
But let us not get carried away. In the more conservative Jerusalem, for example, the streets are not brimming with sexy babes at every turn. (Although I am sure that a lot of strictly Orthodox girls have potential -- if only they would undergo a What Not to Wear makeover). Israelis simply obsessively note whenever one of their own gets international distinction. Look at Uri Geller, for instance. "He's one of ours," Jews like to say (or maybe some do not...). So when Israeli models such as Bar Refaeli or Esti Ginzburg land covers on famous magazines, Jews get all "ooh-hah". I am sure everyone in Latin America thinks their women -- such as Selma Hayek and Penelope Cruz -- are the hottest in the world too.
Given Israel's size, a remarkably pretty girl or hunky man is a big fish in a small pond. In America, for instance, raving beauties might, at best, compete in their local pageants, try the acting circuit, or in some unfortunate cases (when fame is elusive) get cast in a porn movie. Maybe the Israeli people just know how to cultivate their assets -- and I mean, all of them -- wisely.
Reprinted with permission from the Jewish Chronicle.
Views expressed by the author do not
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