I came across this story and find it quite funny in a sad way tho...so the 2015 Miss Universe is currently on, Miss Lebanon and Miss Isreal are part of the contestants for the title...now Miss Isreal posted a picture (above) on the internet of she and Miss Lebanon in a selfie with two other beauty queens and this has caused quite an uproar, here is the full story from E!:
The picture, which also shows Miss Slovenia, Urška Bračko, and Miss Japan, Keiko Tsuji, who are both also 21, was posted on the latter beauty queen's Instagram page on Jan. 11.
"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 isreal, who tried several times to take a photo with me (sic)," Greige (Miss Lebanon) said on her own page on Saturday, alongside the same pic, with Matalon cropped out.
"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," she continued. "This is what happened and I hope to have your full support in the Miss Universe contest."
In a Facebook message written in English, Miss Israel said Miss Lebanon's comments made her "sad."
"Not that it surprised me, but it's a shame that we can't put the hostilities aside, just for three weeks, during which we have a rare opportunity to meet girls from all around the world (also from neighboring countries), to hear about the different cultures and to experience this experience together," she wrote, in her native Hebrew.
Israel, a Jewish State, and the neighboring country of Lebanon, home to a Muslim majority, have been at war for years. Cross-border violence has been sparse since 2006, when Israeli forces killed more than 1,200 people, according to the UN, and militants from the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah killed 160 Israelis, during a 34-day conflict in which militants continuously fired rockets into Israel.
On Sunday, an Israeli air strike in Syria killed a Hezbollah commander and several other members of the group, including the son of its late military leader who was implicated in attacks on Israeli and Western targets and was also wanted by the United States, Reuters reported.
Lebanese television station Al Jadeed said in a sarcastic report that since one of Miss Lebanon's hobbies is reading, she should have read that her country and Israel are enemies, NBC News reported. The Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reported that Greige was "photobombed" and that several citizens had asked that "Greige be stripped from her title for mingling with the citizen of an enemy state."
Travel between Israel and Lebanon is strictly prohibited and carries the threat of jail time. In November, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning about Lebanon, stating that American citizens who plan to visit the country must not have Israeli stamps or visas in their passports.
However, the Internet and especially social media have opened up lines of communication between the Israeli and Lebanese people...as seen in the comments section of both beauty queen's posts, which have spurred small political debates.
"As Lebanese, I dont think that taking a picture with Miss Israel is a big deal! (sic)" one person wrote on Matalon's Instagram page. "For God sakes this is a competition and not a war fight."
"Miss Lebanon, Saly Greige should not be in any trouble and the media (especially Lebanese media) needs to calm down," he added. "Without the media, I would have seen this picture as a positive thing for both countries, that they are taking a picture together despite whats happening back home."
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