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| Miss Israel Doron Matalon posted this selfie on her Instagram next to Misses Lebanon, Slovenia and Japan |
A Lebanese beauty queen pleaded selfie defense after a Facebook pic of her posing with an Israeli pageant competitor caused outrage in Lebanon, which forbids its citizens from fraternizing with Israelis and is threatening to disqualify her.
“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 have a photo with me),” this year’s Miss Lebanon Saly Greige, who is set to compete in the Miss Universe contest in Miami on Jan. 25, wrote on her Facebook.
The green-eyed brunette begged fans back home for their continued support in spite of a photo that Miss Israel, Doron Matalon, posted online that showed the two beauties of warring nations smiling side-by-side.
Most of her followers posted positive comments after the apology, but her government may not be as forgiving.
In 1993, the country stripped its Miss Lebanon, Ghada al-Turk, of her title after Agence France Press distributed a photo of her smiling arm-in-arm with her Israeli contender.
This time around, the Lebanese government has vowed to “launch an investigation” and will decide this week whether the offensive photo will get her crown snapped, too.
That’s exactly what Miss Israel was shooting for, said Miss Lebanon’s delusional agent, who likened the beauty to a stealthy saboteur, stalking his client with her camera drawn before she “photo-bombed” Greige standing with Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia, according to Lebanese media.
But Miss Israel said quit the kvetching.
“It doesn’t surprise me, but it still makes me sad,” wrote Matalon, in her own Facebook response.
“Too bad you cannot put the hostility out of the game, only for three weeks of an experience of a lifetime that we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country.”
Source: The New York Post, 1/18/2015
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| Miss Lebanon reposted the selfie on her Instagram but she cropped out Miss Israel |