Melanie Shiraz, despite not placing in the competition’s top 30, used her platform to remember those Israelis who lost their lives to terror
November 21, 2025 14:22
Israel's contestant for Miss Universe 2025, 26-year-old Melanie Shiraz, paid tribute to the hostages and those who lost their lives in the Gaza War in a magnificent self-designed dress.
The annual beauty competition, which was held in Thailand on Friday, saw Shiraz resplendent in yellow, the colour now synonymous with the hostages’ return, with a Star of David-decorated gown embroidered with dozens of red anemones, Israel's national flower, each one to honour the life of a victim of the conflict.
She wrote online: "My national costume for Miss Universe carries symbols that speak to the heart of the Israeli story.
"These flowers represent the lives lost since the war began, a collective tribute to families, friends and communities forever changed. I designed this piece to honour our story, our grief and the light we continue to hold onto."
Shiraz did not place in the top 30, though Palestine's contestant, Nadeen Ayoub, did.
Ayoub also sported a custom dress, decorated to represent the "grace of Palestine".
"I unveiled a national costume that carries the soul of my people, the grace of Palestinian women, the poetry of tatreez [Palestinian embroidery style], the legacy of our ancestors and the spirit of a land where faiths, art and history live side by side," she wrote on social media.
"From the hand-embroidered motifs to the painted cape honouring Al-Aqsa [Mosque] and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, every detail whispered identity, coexistence, resilience and hope."
The pageant did not pass without controversy, however. A week before the event, a video of the contestants posing for photographs went viral after some social media users claimed Shiraz gave Ayoub a dirty look.
Shiraz firmly denied any ill intention, but not before the video prompted death and rape threats.
“My social media got swarmed with hate comments and just these clips from this video that looked like I was standing right next to her,” she told Fox News. “[It got to the point of people saying,] ‘I want to rape and kill you’ or, ‘I hope that you end up like one of the hostages that got raped and shot in the head'.”
The video was, according to Shiraz, taken at a misleading angle to make it appear as if she was giving Ayoub what some called "the side-eye". Shiraz later posted another version of the clip on her social media, showing her standing directly behind Ayoub, and not directing a furtive glance at her.
She wrote on her Instagram: "Sensationalising intentionally misleading, edited, or incomplete content at the expense of another woman is disappointing - from the public, the media, and even from Israeli outlets that should uphold higher standards.
"Especially when it takes moments to fact-check - and especially when there are real stories, real crises, and real human beings whose voices deserve attention far more than a manufactured narrative about a glance."
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