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Ethiopian Jews Redefine Israeli Beauty

Social entrepreneur Yohannes Azanaw has opened the first Israeli agency for dark-skinned models, challenging misperceptions and racism. 
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Several years ago I talked with artists of Ethiopian origin about the cooperation between Israeli singer Idan Raichel and singers from the Ethiopian community. The Idan Raichel Project, regarded by many veteran Israelis as a generous gesture toward the Ethiopian community, was nonetheless received by some young people in the community with a mixture of gratitude and suspicion. Several months prior to our conversation, the media published interviews with singers who took part in the Raichel Project and spoke of feeling used.

“It’s OK,” a guy named Yohannes Azanaw told me at the time. “We can do the same thing. We’ll take a couple of Russian immigrants, turn them into a band and cash in.”

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