A selfie image for Miss Lebanon Saly Greige along with Miss Israel in Miss Universe contest provoked users on social networking websites, who saw the photo as a type of normalization in light of an ongoing conflict between Arabs and Israel.
Greige wrote defending herself on Facebook saying: "To all my supporters and Lebanese citizens, I would like to thank you indeed for your continuous support of Miss Lebanon at the Miss Universe contest… 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 Israel, 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."
Greige's business manager told Lebanese newspaper Al-Nahar: "The media accused Saly with ugly accusations, forgetting that Saly studied Civil Engineering at the University of Balamand and succeeded in passing the [Miss Lebanon] contest, acclaimed for its level."
Miss Israel expressed outrage at Greige's reaction to criticism.
Miss USA Rima Fakih commented on the incident saying: "Is this a beauty pageant or a war pageant?! LEAVE them ALONE! #MissUniverse #MissLebanon #MissIsrael."
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
