Jewish woman advances to finals of Miss Germany contest

A Jewish woman has qualified for the final round of the Miss Germany 2018 contest.

Tamar Morali, 21, won the title of Miss Internet over the weekend, which qualifies her to compete against about 20 other women who have won in other categories to become Miss Germany. She was chosen among the 10 contestants in the final round by a panel of celebrity judges, as well as in online voting, following evening gown and bathing suit competitions and a personal interview.

Morali said before the last round that organizers told her she is the first Jewish woman to get this far in the Miss Germany competition.

The final stage of the contest organized by the Miss Germany Corporation will take place in Germany’s Europa Park on February 24.

Morali was born in the German city of Karlsruhe but grew up in Vienna, Austria, where she was active in the Jewish community. At 17, she spent a gap year in Israel, and she is currently studying toward a bachelor’s degree in communications and business there, at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.

In 2011, a Jewish woman, Valeria Bystritskaia, was crowned a Miss Germany in a different competition. But fearing anti-Semitism, Bystritskaia, a Russia native who moved to Germany at the age of 7, kept her Jewish heritage a secret.