they kept the gene pool mostly at home? 
Which in her case would appear to be around north-eastern Europe or possibly as far south as Poland.Israel is a very unique country for so many reasons none the least of which is the very diverse background of its population. With so many having come from elsewhere you will see a wide range of looks and builds. In some ways it is much like the USA with perhaps the biggest difference being in how the two countries were actually fabricated.
They exist, unfortunately. Know one at work, nice person and all but she is fugly.
There are all sorts in any population. It just depends on what people focus on both in themselves and in others. I have known some very ugly beautiful people before along with some beautiful ugly ones.