In a statement posted to her Instagram story on Monday, Miss Highland Papua defended herself, saying the video was not political but rather expressed her faith.
"I was simply practicing my faith as a follower of Christ by praying and offering blessings, but an old video from my reels went viral with many false interpretations about my beliefs," wrote Kogoya.
However, Kogoya's Instagram profile still includes the phrase "I stand with Israel," as well as an emoji of the Jewish state's flag.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country with a population of some 220 million Muslims, does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.
In April 2024, Ynet reported that Israel was set to normalise relations with Indonesia after months of talks between Jerusalem and Jakarta.
In exchange for establishing diplomatic ties with the Jewish state, Israel would reportedly drop objections to Jakarta becoming a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Although the two countries do not share formal diplomatic relations, cooperation exists in trade, technology and tourism. Indonesia was reportedly one of the Muslim-majority countries that Jerusalem was working to add to the Abraham Accords in the months before Hamas's October 7, 2023 massacre.
