Miss Morocco, one of two Miss Universe contestants from Arab-Muslim countries to take part in the pageant for the first time this year, gushed about her time in Israel saying she “felt so so welcome” everywhere she went.
Kawtar Benhalima was the first Miss Universe contestant from Morocco since 1978. This year’s pageant, which took place in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, also saw the first ever contestant from a Gulf nation with Miss Bahrain’s Manar Nadeem Deyani. Both Bahrain and Morocco normalized ties with Israel last year as part of the Trump-led Abraham Accords.
“Learning that it was going to happen in Israel made me very, very happy,” Benhalima told i24News, noting that she was aware of the country’s rich history. “I was really looking forward to learning about this country.”
“It’s amazing, it’s so rich, it’s so diverse,” she said. “Travelling from city to city takes a short amount of time but yet you feel like you’re changing your environment all the time.”
“I felt so, so welcome everywhere I went.”
Benhalima also noted the strong connection between Israelis of Moroccan descent, and her home country.
“There are so many Israelis that have lived in Morocco and that was very prominent for me, people telling me their parents are from Morocco, or their grandmother is from Morocco, such a valuable experience for me,” she said.
Syrian-born journalist Hayvi Bouzo, who today lives in the U.S. and fights anti-Semitism in Arab countries, also visited Israel for the first time to cover the pageant.
“[The pageant in Israel] was proof that things are changing. People are coming together,” Bouzo said.
The contest was marred by attempts by the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which swung its wrecking ball of hate at various contestants in an attempt to persuade them to nix the pageant. In the case of Miss South Africa, it failed miserably, with the lovely Lalela Mswane defying both homegrown BDS activists and the South African government and finishing the contest as second runner-up.
The 24-year-old, who is a qualified lawyer, returned home and said she had received death threats by pro-Palestinian activists.
Miss Morocco, Kawtar Benhalima, presents herself on stage during the preliminary stage of the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Israel’s southern Red Sea coastal city of Eilat on December 10, 2021. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
Turkey’s contestant, 22-year-old Cemrenaz Turhan, also came under intense criticism by BDS activists for choosing to come.
“I’m not a politician, I came here for a competition,” she responded. “I love all countries, I didn’t think for a second that I would boycott Israel — I’m not thinking about that.
“I’m very happy to be here, the Israeli people are so kind and so amazing,” she added.