"Proud Catholic Arab" Crowned First Miss Trans Israel
The Miss Trans Star pageant was held for the first time in Israel over the weekend, and an Israeli Arab Catholic took home the top prize.
21-year-old Ta’alin Abu Hanna was crowned in a white bridal gown and will now represent Israel when the country participates in the Miss Trans Star International pageant for the first time this August in Spain.
Hanna called her win "historic" and said she was thrilled to win a pageant that promotes equality and inclusion.
“If I had not been in Israel and had been elsewhere — in Palestine or in any other Arab country — I might have been oppressed or I might have been in prison or murdered," Hanna said regarding her pride over being an Israeli Arab.
As part of her winning prize, she will receive $15,000 in plastic surgery procedures, and will be provided flights and accommodations for the surgeries that will take place in a Thai hospital.
You can watch moments from the pageant, which kicked off the Pride season in Tel Aviv, in the video below.
