ISRAEL: Twenty one-year-old Hagit Yaso, the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, achieves top honour by winning the country's local version of the Idol singing competition

Record ID: 395821

  • Title: ISRAEL: Twenty one-year-old Hagit Yaso, the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, achieves top honour by winning the country's local version of the Idol singing competition
  • Date: 8th July 2011
  • Summary: JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (JULY 25, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ISRAELI PRESIDENT SHIMON PERES HOSTING 'KOCHAV NOLAD' WINNER HAGIT YASO IN HIS RESIDENCE YASO DURING MEETING WITH PERES PERES LISTENING DURING MEETING
  • Embargoed: 23rd July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel, Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVA77580N6HX8J8C8OTNK28SYMDJ
  • Story Text: For the first time in Israel, a woman of Ethiopian origin won the finals of the popular "Kochav Nolad" singing contest, the local version of American Idol.
    Twenty-one-year-old Hagit Yaso from the southern Israeli town of Sderot was announced winner of the 9th season of the show at the finals on July 23rd.
    The show's finals, broadcast by Keshet TV, reached 41 percent in ratings, over 1.247 million Israeli viewers.
    Yaso's surprising victory was a big step for the Ethiopian community in Israel, numbering approximately 110,000 people.
    "First of all thank God that was walking with me all along, I only got here because of his help. I want to thank the people who supported me and stayed with me, my family here behind me, Noam Shlomo, my amazing town that supported me and my wonderful (Ethiopian) community, thank you, thank you," Yaso said after winning.
    Known as "Falash Mura", the descendants of Ethiopian Jews have reverted to Judaism since their late 18th and 19th century forbears converted to Christianity, sometimes under duress.
    Tens of thousands of practising Ethiopian Jews or Falashas -- which means "outsiders" in Ethiopia's Amharic language -- were airlifted to Israel in dramatic, top-secret operations in the 1980s and 1990s after a rabbinical ruling that they were direct descendants of the biblical Jewish Dan tribe.
    Thousands are still waiting Israeli approval to immigrate, staying in camps in the area of Gondar.
    Ethiopian immigrants integration in Israeli society was at times hampered by state bureaucracy and allegations of racist discrimination, including a discovery in the 90' of a Health Ministry policy of dumping blood donated by Ethiopian immigrants for fear of contamination, which has sparked riots.
    On Monday (July 25), Israeli President Shimon Peres invited Yaso and her family to his official residence in Jerusalem, to hear the story of their immigration to Israeli from the Tigray region in 1980.
    "As a little girl, I always wanted to get to this place, to participate in "Kochav Nolad" and to win. And I also have all the people around me, my (Ethiopian) community, and my family and my town. And I wanted this for myself but also for them, for them to leverage what they dream of," Hagit Yaso told reporters at the presidential reception.
    "Its fun for me, to come to the president's residence. I felt like I just now arrived to Israel," Yaso's father told Reuters television after the reception.
    Asked about the state of integration of Ethiopians in Israel, the father said the situation is indeed improving slowly, and he hopes it keeps getting better with more representation in all aspects of society.
    "This is symbolizing something about our society, that anyone can reach anywhere. And the people of the Ethiopian community are getting anywhere these days, top officers (in the Israeli army), high positions in the business sector, and here in a talent show, we have a first Ethiopian winner," executive producer of "Kochav Nolad", Yoav Tzafir, told Reuters.
    Tzafir added this was the first time in the show's history that a winner was invited to meet the president, saying this is the ultimate proof of the significance of Yaso's victory for Israeli society.
    For over 30 years, Yaso's family has been living in the town of Sderot, a frequent target of Palestinian militants rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
    Yaso's victory has also inspired residents of the town, and she was endorsed throughout the competition by the town's mayor.
    In 2010, Israel decided to allow 8,000 Ethiopians who claim Jewish descent to enter the country and obtain Israeli citizenship, including some who have waited for years in transit camps.
    Immigrant groups in Israel have long protested the delay in permitting them to arrive, saying it has split families whose relatives have been left behind.
    Israel grants automatic citizenship to Jews who immigrate. However, most Falash Mura must undergo a conversion ritual before receiving citizenship papers.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register