Miss Israel and Miss Iraq Pose On Instagram For World Peace
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Contestants at the Miss Universe beauty pageant say they want one thing and one thing only: world peace.
And on Monday, Adar Gandelsman of Israel and Sarah Idan of Iraq took to Instagram to make a surprisingly radical statement about world peace and the power of images. Gandelsman, representing Israel at the Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas, and Idan, representing Iraq, posted the picture to their respective Instagram accounts. “Peace and love from Miss Iraq and Miss Israel,” Idan captioned her pic. “Get to know, this is Miss Iraq and she’s amazing,” Gandelsman said. In collared blue dresses and sashes, with hair styled in shiny ringlets, the competitors looked like sisters.
Gandelsman, the 19-year-old runner-up in the Miss Israel competition (first-place winners go on to compete, nonsensically, in the Miss World competition), is representing her country by way of her hometown Ashkelon. Gandelsman is a current Israel Defense Forces soldier in the second year of her service. She volunteers with disabled Israeli children through the Israeli nor-for-profit Varaity. Idan, a 27-year-old musician, lives in America and does volunteer work with refugees and immigrants in U.S.-Arab communities.
The competition will air live from Las Vegas on November 26 on Fox. Unlikely friend to world peace Steve Harvey will host.
Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @jeanvaljenny
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