Miss Israel says she's getting death threats after viral Miss Universe video controversy with Miss Palestine
Miss Israel Melanie Shiraz says she has been bombarded with death and rape threats after she claims a potentially edited video went viral showing her glaring at Miss Palestine during a Miss Universe competition.
The 27-year-old spoke about how the abuse began within hours of the video circulating online and as people began to think she had given Nadeen Ayoub a dirty look on stage during the pageant in Bangkok, Thailand.
"I don't know if that footage was edited or not, but it was definitely at least edited and cropped and clipped together in a way that made it look like I was the only one that was looking that way," she told Fox News Digital.
"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.
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"I first thought it was AI or something, then I realized that it just came from a different camera that had a very distorted perspective."
Shiraz maintained she expected that she would "get a lot of hate and heightened scrutiny just for being the representative from Israel, but this should not cause Hitler comments and not cause death threats."
"And that's exactly what I've been receiving," she said, before describing the harassment as graphic and disturbing.
"This has been to the point of, 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," she said.
"I've gotten, ‘die you dirty Jew.’ I don't want to be too graphic, and it's jarring."
"I was hoping that I would be able to have a productive dialogue with Miss Palestine, maybe even take some photos together and show the world that we can be an example for peace," she added.
Shiraz, who studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed an MBA, previously worked in Israel’s tech sector and founded her own startup before entering pageantry.
"I realized that I am very passionate about advocacy," she said. "I got heavily involved in the Jewish community and Israel advocacy on campus, and it occurred to me that a cultural stage such as this one could give Israel a human voice and when we’re generally only seen through a political lens," she added.
The controversy in Bangkok also came after Ayoub posted several photos from the event online after a show.
"She had also posted eight photos in which I was visible in all of them," Shiraz recalled.
"They were obviously not good pictures of me, and ones where I was looking in that direction, or what seemed to be that direction.
"I had asked her to take it down, and she took down only one or two of the photos, but not all of them."
"During the competition I had realized that there was a specific cameraman that was centered right on her, and I was right behind her," she said. "I had also realized that that cameraman was only pointing at her, and therefore myself, and they seemed to have some kind of communication between them, which was striking to me."
Despite the abuse, Shiraz remains determined. "It is very, very tough to be Jewish and Israeli in this day and age, no matter what we do, we will get hate for it," she said.
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"It only reinforces to me that what I'm doing right now is important and that I shouldn't get distracted, just motivated."
The 74th Miss Universe competition, featuring 121 contestants, continues in Thailand, with the grand final set for Friday, Nov. 21.
"I'm very passionate about representing Israel and, after this competition, hope to pivot from my background to turn to advocating for Israel and for good causes into my life's work," she said. "I come out and put my best foot forward every day, and sometimes it feels like, no matter what I do, it just will not be sufficient, you know, to get me into certain people's hearts… But of course, it won't stop me from putting my best foot forward."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Miss Palestine for comment.