Miss South Africa Says She Received Death Threats For Going to Israel

Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, who finished in the top three of the Miss Universe contest this week, said she received “death threats” that left her in total “despair” after she flew to Israel, despite bullying tactics both by anti-Israel activists and her own government.

As Breitbart News reported, Mswane won the title of 2nd Runner-up in the resort town of Eilat, competing alongside various contestants from Arab countries on a day when Israel’s prime minister made a historic visit to the United Arab Emirates.

That message of peace and unity contrasted with the efforts of South African anti-Israel activists from the “boycott, divestment, and sanctions” (BDS) movement to pressure Mswane to boycott the pageant because it was being held in the Jewish state.

Mswane even defied the South African government, which caved to BDS and withdrew its support for her candidacy, citing Israeli “atrocities” against Palestinians.

Speaking to reporters after her return home, Mswane’s voice cracked with emotion when asked how she responded to the government’s condemnation of her decision to participate in the contest.

“I felt abandoned. I also felt a bit of anger because I don’t know what I had done so wrong,” she said.

“I’ll never comprehend what I did to make people feel justified in their actions. You don’t have to be for me, but you don’t have to be against me. You don’t have to, certainly, wish death upon me because I made a choice. I never initiated any war. This is way bigger than me. All I did was just pursue a dream of mine.”

“Sometimes, I question if whether going was even the correct choice. Just because when I made that decision, it no longer became about me but the safety of my family and those I love. And to receive death threats, to not be able to sleep, I don’t think I even prepared for this competition, so for me, being third is the biggest win I could have ever achieved, and I’m extremely proud of myself,” she told the small group of media who gathered at the conference.

According to South African news site The Citizen, Mswane also slammed the government for having double standards and challenged them to cut all ties with Israel if they’re so against what the country’s government is doing to the Palestinian people.

“I felt right, I felt justified in doing what I did. Because, you know what? Had the government said ‘ja, we have released all ties with Israel,’ that’s a whole different stance, but I think it’s hypocritical to then ask of me to do something. As I said, I do think I was just an easy target, I was a low-hanging fruit and my participation is in no way an indication of any support towards any state.”

South African Jewish organizations have hailed Mswane’s courage, and some critics of the government are calling on it to apologize to her.