A Pageant for Holocaust Survivors

A Pageant for Survivors

Each year, Haifa, Israel, plays host to a beauty pageant. But the contestants aren't what you'd expect. Each one is a Holocaust survivor. And last year's winner—84 year-old Rita Berkowitz—is set to pass her crown on to the new queen. This pageant has had critics who claim that the event sensationalizes the suffering of the participants, but Rita doesn't see it that way. For her, the pageant is a way for survivors from all over Israel to come together and celebrate being alive.