A Lebanese contestant in the Miss Universe pageant is facing considerable backlash in her country, after releasing a photo of herself and a few other contestants – including Miss Israel. After the photo was posted on Miss Israel, Doron Matalon’s Instagram page, some Lebanese called for their country's contestant, Saly Greige, to be stripped of her title for consorting with a citizen of the enemy state.

The photo in itself, which also features Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia, does not feature any controvercial material. The four contestants are seen smiling during pageant prep in Miami  - the Miss Universe pageant is set to take place less than a week from now, on January 25th.

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The conflict of interest is entirely political. The two countries are technically at war, although the border has been largely quiet since their 2006 conflict. The Lebanese risk prison if they call or travel to Israel and all Israeli products are banned in Lebanon. Some critics went as far as to call for Miss Greige to be stripped of her title for interacting with a citizen of the enemy state.

Miss Greige took to Instagram again on Saturday, this time to post the following in her defense: “The truth behind the photo, since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss universe,I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss isreal, who tried several times to take a photo with me.

I was having a photo with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia, suddenly Miss Israel jumped in and took a selfie, and uploaded it on her social media.”

 

Miss Lebanon also thanked all her “supporters and Lebanese citizens” for their “continuous support.”