The political tiff between South Africa and Israel has spilled into the upcoming Miss Universe beauty pageant, after Pretoria barred its contender from participating.
South Africa says pageant organisers disregarded the government’s plea to stop partaking in the Miss Universe event taking place in Israel next month.
Miss South Africa 2021, Lalela Mswane, is set to represent the country at the competition in Eilat, Israel, on December 13.
The Department of Arts and Culture said the atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians are well documented and it could not “in good conscience associate itself with such”.
“As the legitimate representative of the people of South Africa, [we] cannot in good conscience associate itself with such,” the department’s spokesperson Mmasechaba Ndlovu said in a statement.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said Israel was guilty of apartheid-like treatment of Palestinians.
“Their humiliation is familiar to all black South Africans who were corralled and harassed and insulted and assaulted by the security forces of the apartheid government,” he said.
Arts minister Nathi Mthethwa said participating in the event could “prove disastrous to her [Mswane’s] future and public standing as a young, Black woman”.
In a separate statement, the governing African National Congress party called on organisers “to hear and listen to the overwhelming call for the Miss South Africa team to boycott the upcoming apartheid Israel hosted Miss Universe”.
Earlier this week, Miss South Africa said in a statement that the Miss Universe pageant is not a politically inspired event.
Miss South Africa Organisation CEO Stephanie Weil said Mswane will be a role model to young women in South Africa and Africa.
“Anyone who wants to rob Lalela of her moment in the spotlight is unkind and short-sighted. She is the shining beacon for young women everywhere, showing them that being beautiful while being clever and educated is very possible.”
South Africa was among several African countries that rejected the decision by the African Union to grant observer status to Israel earlier in July. The status allows Israeli diplomats to be accredited to the African Union and attend crucial meetings even though they will have no vote.
The African Union, which supports a two-state solution in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, argued it needed those two sides on board to work out a proper solution. Palestine has been an observer state at the AU since 2013.
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