Miss Lebanon took a selfie with Miss Israel and two other Miss Universe contestants during some downtime last week, and now the seemingly innocent photo of four smiling women has turned into an international incident.
Lebanese media reportedly pounced on Miss Lebanon, whose name is Saly Greige. The country and Israel are technically at war, although conflict has been minimal over the past nine years, according to The Telegraph. Still, some commentators were reportedly irked that Greige was associating with Miss Israel, or Doron Matalon.
As you can see, below, everything started off nicely enough.
Good morning from us! Miss Japan , miss Slovenia, miss Lebanon & I ❤️ @missunews @missuniverse @beautyschoolbs @belezasdouniverso @missuniversusa @miss_israel #miami #mu2014 #missisrael #loveisrael #MissIsraelUniverse #missuniversemiami A photo posted by Doron Matalon (@doronmatalon) on Jan 11, 2015 at 5:46am PST
Following public backlash, however, Greige claimed Matalon "tried several times to take a photo with me," and that the photo only occurred after "Miss Israel jumped in and took a selfie." Greige later reposted the photo, sans Matalon:
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 isreal, 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. This is what happened and I hope to have your full support in the Miss Universe contest A photo posted by Saly Greige (@salygreige_official) on Jan 17, 2015 at 7:14am PST
Matalon reposted the original photo on Sunday, saying she wasn't surprised by the uproar, but that it still made her "sad."
לא שזה הפתיע אותי, אבל חבל שאי אפשר לשים את העוינות בצד , רק לשלושה שבועות שבהן יש לנו הזדמנות נדירה להכיר בנות מכל העולם (וגם מהמדינות השכנות) לשמוע על התרבויות השונות ולחוות את החוויה הזאת ביחד. It doesn't surprise me, but it still makes me sad. Too bad you can not 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. @salygreige_official @miss_israel @missunews @missuniverse @missuniversusa #lebanon #israel #missuniverse2014 A photo posted by Doron Matalon (@doronmatalon) on Jan 18, 2015 at 4:46am PST
The 63rd annual Miss Universe pageant will air at 8 p.m. ET on Jan. 25 in Doral, Florida.