Family of
Iraqi beauty queen 'forced to flee country after she took a selfie with Miss
Israel'
So much for
diplomacy by selfie.
Miss Iraq,
Sarah Idan, and her family had to flee their homeland after receiving death
threats over a photo she posted online last month.
Why? Because
Idan posed with Miss Israel, Adar Gandelsman, at a Miss Universe International
Beauty Pageant, the Times of Israel reported.
Idan came
under fire for posting the photo to Instagram, captioned, “Peace and Love from
Miss Iraq and Miss Israel,” in addition to modeling a bikini.
“The two of
those things together caused a mess for her back home where people made threats
against her and her family that if she didn’t return home and take down the
photos, they would remove her (Miss Iraq) title, that they would kill her,” Gandelsman
told Israeli TV, the paper reported.
In another
Instagram post, Idan apologized to those who thought the photo was “harmful to
the Palestinian cause,” clarifying that it was not a political statement, but
instead meant to “express hope and desire for peace between the two countries,”
the paper reported.
She added,
it “does not signal support for the government of Israel and does not mean I
agree or accept its policies in the Arab homeland.”
Iraq does
not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, and the two countries are
considered enemies, the paper reported.
Despite the
backlash, Gandelsman said her friend did not regret her decision to post the
image to social media, which she has yet to remove from Instagram, reported the
paper.
“She did it
to so that people can understand that it’s possible to live together,” she
said.
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