The US-based organizers of the Miss Israel pageant were planning to appoint a winner of their choosing this year without the involvement of independent judges or holding a full-on pageant, the current titleholder, Melanie Shiraz, said this past week.

The accusation, backed up by video evidence, came alongside other charges from Shiraz, including that non-Israeli contestants had been encouraged to apply and acquire Israeli citizenship later, meaning that the contest would have little connection to Israel, despite Miss Israel representing the Jewish state on a major global platform.

The allegations sparked a public dispute between Shiraz and the Miss Israel organization, which cut her off on Friday.

The Miss Israel organizers have denied all misdeeds, called the charges “inaccurate,” and said they are adhering to contest rules and signed contracts.

“The public is about to be presented with what appears to be a national competition, despite no meaningful nationwide search ever having taken place under the current non-Israeli, non-Jewish directorship of Miss Israel,” Shiraz said. “Non-citizens have been actively encouraged to enter the system and establish eligibility afterward, while Israeli women were never given a genuine opportunity to compete for their country’s crown.”

Miss Israel serves as Israel’s representative to the Miss Universe competition, one of the world’s leading pageants. The winner is granted a prominent platform and significant publicity, which Shiraz has used for pro-Israel advocacy.

Miss Universe, and the Miss Israel organization, are independent companies. Miss Universe grants franchises to firms in each country, allowing the franchises to select a contestant for the worldwide competition.

The Miss Israel competition began in Israel in 1950. In 2022, the Israeli organizers shut down the program due to criticism that it was objectifying women.

That left the Israeli franchise available. Miss Israel went dormant for two years before being acquired by firms in the US. Florida state filings showed that the production company Edgar Entertainment and a company in Puerto Rico manage Miss Israel LLC, which was set up last year.

Edgar Entertainment handles the Miss Israel contest production, and also runs Miss Uzbekistan and Miss Armenia, according to its website.

Edgar Entertainment and its CEO, Edgar Saakyan, do not appear to have any other connection to Israel. The competition took place in English........

© The Times of Israel