© AFP Photo/Anwar AmroSaly Greige waving after being crowned Miss Lebanon 2014, on October 5, 2014. She is now in trouble for appearing in "selfie" photo with Miss Israel
Comment: This is blaming the victim. It was Miss Israel who muscled her way into the picture, uninvited, and she should be called out for violating Greige's privacy, for unprofessional behavior, and a total lack of manners.
Saly Greige took to her Facebook page to declare that Israel's Doron Matalon had pushed her way into a now widely-circulated photo showing the Middle Eastern beauties with Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia.
"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 Israel (that tried several times to have a photo with me)," Greige wrote in English on her page.
"I was having a photo with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia and myself, suddenly Miss Israel jumped in, took a selfie, and put it on her social media."
Comment: "Mr. Israel", Prime Minister Netanyahu, displayed a similar lack of awareness of common decency when he attended the Paris rally, ignoring the host nation's request to not to do so. But it got much worse. See: Nowhere to go but down: Netanyahu insults French Jews after Shin Bet manhandles French PM
The offending photo, taken in Miami where the Miss Universe pageant is staged, appeared on Matalon's Instagram account on January 11.
It shows Miss Israel with a beaming Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan, and Miss Lebanon, who appears to be gritting her teeth.
Matalon responded to the controversy herself on Sunday, saying it made her "sad".
"It doesn't surprise me, but it still makes me sad. Too bad you can not put the hostility out of the game," she wrote in English and Hebrew.
Comment: More victim-blaming.
Lebanese media picked up the story, running Greige's allegations that Matalon had "photobombed" the selfie, and local social media users both defended and attacked their beauty queen for the picture.
Israel occupied parts of Lebanon for 22 years until 2000, but the two countries are still technically at war and their armies occasionally skirmish along the UN-designated withdrawal line.
Israel fought a bloody war against Lebanon's Hezbollah in 2006, which killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and some 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Source: AFP
Reader Comments
My Grandma, God bless her, would have snorted at this article and exclaimed; "Why them uppity Israelies!" Of course she would not have used the political correctness that I have.
After thirty years of travel and work in many countries I've come to realize that 'humility' is probably one of the most important virtues that a person can posess. It is not a virtue share by everyone and it is sadly lacking in psycopaths of every hue and gender. Problem is, todays Leaders and 'Hero' figures are more psycho than human so what kind of role models are we generating for the young and impressionable?
What do you want to bet that Miss Israel is Mosad?
First, it's MOSSAD (or Mossad, if you're British). Second, that might or might not be the case, but 'uppity' isn't nearly the appropriate word. Try 'overbearing' and 'ill-mannered', to put it mildly. Israel remains a pariah.
It's likely how she's raised. After all, she's Israeli, she's used to muscling in where she she doesn't belong and grabbing attention where she isn't welcome.