German-Jewish beauty pageant contestant Tamar Morali is competing to be the first Jewish Miss Germany - and victory is in sight for the model who has become one of the top 20 finalists in the online category.

Competition organisers have told Miss Morali that she is the only Jewish person ever to have made it this far in the competition.

The relationship between Jews and Germany is historically fraught, but Miss Morali said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post: "I am proud to be a German Jew. You [the Nazis] tried to destroy us, and we are still here and still have a voice and are even cooperating with the Germans."

German-born Miss Morali, 21, went to a Jewish school in Vienna and, after falling in love with Israel while on her gap year with Bnei Akiva, returned to complete her BA in business and communication at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.

After winning first place in the Look Style Awards at Vienna Fashion Week she turned her attention to Miss Germany 2018.

“I see my candidacy not only as a personal achievement but as an achievement for the State of Israel and for the Jewish people in the Diaspora," she said. "That in Germany, a country with a very complex history with regard to the Jewish people, there is the first Jewish contestant for the title."

Online voting for the Miss Germany competition opens on Sunday.