A
seemingly good-spirited selfie taken at the Miss Universe pageant has
caused a political stir. Miss Lebanon, Saly Greige, is being criticized
for being caught in a photo with Miss Israel, Doron Matalon, along with
two other girls.
After
Matalon posted the snapshot on her Facebook profile, Lebanese
television station Al Jadeed quipped that, since one of her hobbies is
reading, she should have read that Lebanon and Israel are enemies.
Greige explained the
situation on her Facebook page, saying she had been trying to avoid
communicating with and taking a photo with Miss Israel since arriving at
the competition, but while she "was having a photo with Miss Japan,
Miss Slovenia and myself; suddenly Miss Israel jumped in, took a selfie,
and put it on her social media." Greige said she hoped she would still
have the support of the Lebanese people.
Matalon
was less apologetic. She posted an article about the photo and
re-posted the photo Sunday, saying the situation "doesn't surprise me
but it still makes me sad." Matalon said she wished "hostility" could be
forgotten for the three-week duration of the competition so that "we
can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring
country." Miss Israel served two years in the Israeli Defense Forces,
according to her profile on the Miss Universe website.
The pageant will be televised next Sunday, Jan. 25, on NBC at 8 p.m. ET.
— Paul Goldman and Elisha Fieldstadt
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