A video clip of the event went viral, with social media users focusing on the apparent reaction some say Shiraz made toward Ayoub.
Israel’s representative at this year’s Miss Universe competition is facing death and rape threats after critics accused her of giving her Palestinian peer a dirty look ahead of the pageant.
Last week, footage from a Miss Universe event appeared to show Miss Israel, 27-year-old Melanie Shiraz, rolling her eyes or scowling behind Nadeen Ayoub, 27.
Ayoub, winner of the Miss Palestine competition despite being a resident of Dubai, is the first-ever competitor at the Miss Universe to represent Palestinian Arabs.
A video clip of the event went viral, with social media users focusing on the apparent reaction some say Shiraz made toward Ayoub.
No, Miss Israel Melanie Shiraz didn’t shoot Miss Palestine an evil side-eye.
⚠️THE VIDEO IS FAKE⚠️
➡️ RT to stop people falling for the hoax! pic.twitter.com/d0NbLRuQBZ
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) November 14, 2025
Since then, Shiraz has been the target of an online hate campaign led by pro-Hamas users.
The messages have included antisemitic bigotry, support for Nazism, threats of sexual assault, and death threats.
“It’s not only death threats, but sexual assault threats,” Shiraz told the New York Post. “I experienced antisemitism before, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.”
One message directed at Shiraz read: “Hitler should have finished the job.”
Shiraz has denied she made a face at Ayoub, adding that video footage circulating on the internet was edited.
In an Instagram post, Shiraz insisted she was “simply looking toward other contestants as they came on stage.”
“This platform is meant to empower women. Using it to tear women down, sharing images without consent and staying silent while a fellow competitor is attacked all undermine what we are meant to represent.”
Despite the harassment, Shiraz said she would continue to “stand proudly as a Jewish Israeli woman, and to advocate for truth, peace, and unity.”
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