WOMEN from 80 countries vied for the Miss Universe crown in the Israeli city of Eilat today, with several contestants defying pressure to boycott in support of Palestinians.

The 70th edition of the annual pageant, being held in Israel for the first time, has also faced complications from the coronavirus pandemic.

Among the contestants are Miss Bahrain Manar Nadeem Deyani and Miss Morocco Kawtar Benhalima, whose majority-Muslim nations normalised ties with Israel last year.

South Africa’s Sports, Culture and Arts Ministry has urged its contestant to stay away from Eilat, citing “atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians” and echoing calls of Palestinian groups, who pleaded with contestants to avoid the event.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel wrote: “We urge participants to withdraw, avoid complicity in Israel’s apartheid regime and its violation of Palestinian human rights.”

Despite those calls, Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane was in the Red Sea resort city, where the final competition gets underway overnight before the winner is named at roughly 0300 GMT tomorrow.

In an interview with AFP in Jerusalem late last month, reigning Miss Universe Andrea Meza, of Mexico, said the pageant should steer clear of politics.

“Miss Universe is neither a political movement nor a religious one. It is about women and what they can offer.”

Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, nations that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, have not sent contestants, but both cited complications related to the pandemic, not the rights record of Israel.

The United Arab Emirates, which has also normalised ties with Israel last year and where Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made a historic visit today, has also not sent a candidate.

But it cited “time constraints” in selecting its national winner.

‘Criticism’

Pageant contestants landed in Israel late last month and have since toured sites, sometimes coming under criticism for cultural insensitivity.

In one stop in Rahat, a Bedouin city, the candidates wore robes with traditional Palestinian embroidery, while rolling grape leaves – which Miss Philippines Beatrice Luigi Gomez tweeted is a “day in the life of a Bedouin”.

The Bedouin are a traditionally nomadic people who belong to the community of Palestinian citizens of Israel. They have long complained of discrimination in education and housing.

“Colonialism, cultural appropriation, patriarchy, racism, whitewashing, all in one place,” tweeted Ines Abdel Razek of advocacy group Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy.

Participants in the pageant, co-owned by Donald Trump before he became United States president, must be between the ages of 18 and 28 and may never have married or had a child.

According to organisers, the coronation ceremony will be watched by 600 million viewers in 172 countries. – AFP, December 12, 2021.