Titi Ayno Defends Public Breastfeeding Amid Racist Backlash and Champions Missing Girl Hemanot Kasso
Former Miss Israel Titi Frenkel Ayno says the uproar over a video of her breastfeeding her six-month-old son, Uz, in public reflects ignorance about motherhood and, at times, racism. The Instagram clip, posted last weekend and captioned “Feel free to breastfeed wherever you want,” showed her nursing at a bus stop and in a supermarket, prompting harsh reactions. Some comments, she said, crossed into racist language, including, “This is not Africa, where women are with everything out.”
In an interview with N12 magazine published June 19, 2026, Ayno, who will turn 35 in a few days, said she was born in Ethiopia and lived there until age 12, where public breastfeeding was normal. “I was born in Ethiopia and grew up there until I was 12,” she said. “There are no formula bottles there, no breast-milk substitutes. What I saw there was women breastfeeding babies everywhere.” She added that she is not trying to provoke anyone, only to show reality: if her child is hungry or restless while she is shopping, she will breastfeed him, and it is up to others whether to look.
Ayno said public criticism often ignores the practical and emotional burden of nursing. “I do not want people looking at my breasts, no matter who it is,” she said, but added that there are not always nursing rooms, and sometimes she does not want to cross a mall or supermarket to use one. She described carrying pumps, bottles and cooling equipment whenever she leaves home, and said, “I am not on punishment.” She also said the healthiest choice for the baby is breast milk and that every mother should do what works for her.
Beyond the breastfeeding debate, Ayno is using her public platform to push for Hemanot Kasso, the 11-year-old girl who disappeared from a transit center in Safed two years ago. She said she is demanding that police form a special investigation team and wants the Shin Bet involved. The case was transferred in December to Lahav 433, but she says there has been no real progress and the family learns updates from the news. Ayno believes Kasso was abducted, says the family has been left in anguish for more than 800 days, and will join a march and rally in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, June 24, starting at 6 p.m. from Savidor Central station.
