Kosher Barbie the Israeli Beauty Queen Dips the Big Apple in Honey

What happens when you take the Big Apple, dip it in honey and bring it to Times Square?

You get a very New York Rosh Hashanah.

This year, I stood in Times Square wearing my “I LOVE NY” T-shirt and signature Kosher Barbie look, eating an apple dipped in honey. Honey dripped down my hands and onto my pink skirt.

Some may ask: How can I say I love New York at a time when antisemitism is rising across the city?

I love New York because it gave me something I once could barely imagine: the freedom to become myself.

When I moved from a Hasidic neighborhood in Jerusalem to New York, I traded narrow streets for wide avenues and learned to navigate a new city while discovering my own voice.

New York also gave me a name.

At the New York Film Academy, a fellow student noticed my Israeli accent and blonde hair. He told me I looked like Barbie and jokingly asked, “Hey, Barbie, are you eating bacon?”

“I’m Kosher Barbie,” I answered.

The joke stuck.

Later, while studying musical theater and preparing for a Broadway performance, I attended an early-morning ballet class. My teacher, known for performing a leading role in The Phantom of the Opera, looked at me and said, “You know, you look like a Barbie.”

Barbie.

I took a quiet breath, bracing for a correction about my posture. Instead, he gave me a compliment — and I thanked God for it.

What began as a joke became an identity: Kosher Barbie.

Today, I use that identity to share Jewish and Israeli stories and bring Jewish joy into public spaces. As an Israeli beauty queen wearing the first visibly Jewish Star of David crown, I am making a statement: Israeli stories belong in the public conversation. Jewish identity does not have to be a trend to be meaningful, visible or proud.

So this Rosh Hashanah, I wish for more honey.

Beneath the pink Kosher Barbie dress and the apple is a mission:

Let Jews belong without apology.

Let Jewish joy be visible.

Let Israelis feel at home in the city they love.

And let New York be sweet enough for all of us.

Shana Tova, New York.