Exclusive: Miss Israel Pageant Organizers Deny Claims by Titleholder Melanie Shiraz That 2026 Competition Is Rigged
Shiryn Ghermezian
Melanie Shiraz being crowned Miss Israel 2025. Photo: Simon Soong | Edgar Entertainment
Organizers of the Miss Israel competition said in a statement given exclusively to The Algemeiner late Wednesday that they reject all accusations by current Miss Israel Melanie Shiraz about this year’s pageant being rigged.
Shiraz was crowned Miss Israel in July 2025 at the competition held in Miami, Florida. Shiraz went on to represent Israel at the 2025 Miss Universe pageant, which was held in Thailand in November.
For the last two years, the Miss Israel competition was held in Miami. The Miss Israel franchise is owned by the Israeli company Miss Israel LLC while Edgar Entertainment LLC is in charge of general production for the Miss Israel competition.
“Edgar Entertainment and the Miss Israel franchise categorically reject allegations that the competition is illegitimate, that winners are predetermined, or that the process is manipulated. Such claims are false, unfounded, and damaging,” attorneys for Miss Israel LLC said in a statement given to The Algemeiner in response to Shiraz’s accusations. “We demand that Ms. Shiraz and any other individuals cease and desist from publishing, repeating, or promoting false, misleading, or defamatory statements concerning the franchise, its ownership, or its management. We further request the prompt retraction of any such statements. All legal rights and remedies are expressly reserved.”
“As always, Miss Universe Israel welcomes cooperation with Israeli governmental bodies, community institutions, and organizations that wish to work constructively with us to ensure that the competition continues to represent Israel and the Jewish people with integrity, dignity, and professionalism,” the statement added.
In an Instagram video published earlier on Wednesday, Shiraz claimed she has been “pressured, intimidated, and threatened for speaking out” in support of Israel by the “non-Israeli, non-Jewish directorship” of the Miss Israel organization. Speaking about the process currently used to select Israel’s next Miss Israel, she further said no nationwide search took place in the country and that Israeli women were “never given a genuine opportunity” to compete for the country’s crown. She alleged that, instead, non-Israeli Jews were encouraged to apply for the 2026 competition, represent the Jewish state, “and establish eligibility afterwards,” meaning apply for Israeli citizenship only after being crowned Miss Israel. She accused the competition of becoming “completely detached from Israel.”
Miss Universe is a private organization and each country that participates is represented by an independently owned national franchise, including Miss Israel LLC. Lawyers for Miss Israel LLC told The Algemeiner that it operates the Miss Israel competition “in accordance with Miss Universe guidelines” and that its owner has been an Israeli citizen “since most likely before Melanie was born.”
“Edgar Entertainment was engaged as a professional management and production company to oversee operations, logistics, and event execution. While the owner of Edgar Entertainment – Edgar Saakyan – is neither Jewish nor Israeli, personnel and contractors are retained based on their professional qualifications and expertise,” the lawyers added. “It would be unreasonable to suggest that every vendor, contractor, or employee associated with an Israeli organization must themselves be Jewish or Israeli.”
The Miss Israel franchise “establishes its own eligibility requirements within the framework permitted by Miss Universe,” the lawyers said, in response to Shiraz’s claims about the competition pushing for non-Israelis to apply. They explained in their statement that Miss Israel franchise owners decided in the last two years to open the competition to Jewish candidates outside of Israel so that the titleholder could represent Jewish identity from around the world.
“For the past two competition cycles, the franchise temporarily expanded eligibility to include women of Jewish identity worldwide as an expression of Jewish peoplehood and solidarity with the State of Israel, particularly in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks,” the statement continued, referring to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and its massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, across southern Israel. “This approach was consistent in spirit with the principles underlying Israel’s Law of Return and Aliyah.”
According to the statement, unlike the previous two cycles, “the official application for the current pageant cycle — which has been publicly available on our website since the conclusion of the last competition and remains available today — explicitly requires applicants to possess either an Israeli passport or a Teudat Zehut (Israeli national identity card).”
The Miss Israel organization “recognizes as equally Israeli both those born in Israel and those who have chosen to make aliyah,” the lawyers said, referring to the process of Jews immigrating to Israel. “We reject any attempt to classify individuals as ‘more’ or ‘less’ Israeli based on the circumstances of their citizenship or personal background.”
Shiraz made several other allegations in the Instagram video she posted on Wednesday.
When the reigning Miss Israel tried to raise funds for competition expenses she paid for out of pocket, “I was met with threats to pay tens of thousands of dollars in costs unrelated to my participation,” she claimed. She gave details about the expenses, and claimed Saakyan also threatened to strip her of her title because of her fundraising efforts, in her interview with The Jerusalem Post this week.
Shiraz additionally found fault with the fact that the Miss Israel pageant was held outside of Israel for the last two years and did not include a Hebrew-speaking component.
“Genuine Israeli representation should have been the first priority,” she noted, before saying she believes the “integrity of Israel’s representation is being compromised.” Shiraz said she expressed her concerns about the Miss Israel competition to organizers but was ignored. She also sent a complaint in February to the Miss Universe organization about “financial extortion” but said that she was ignored as well, she told The Jerusalem Post.
Shiraz additionally shared with The Jerusalem Post a recording of an Edger Entertainment meeting that reportedly features a producer explaining how the 2026 Miss Israel competition had a predetermined winner and was designed to “look like a pageant.”
Lawyers for Miss Israel LLC told The Algemeiner that Shiraz’s decision to secretly record the private conversations, which took place in Florida, may result in them taking legal action against her.
“Florida is a two-party consent jurisdiction for the recording of private oral communications, and unauthorized recordings may carry legal consequences,” the attorneys noted. “We are reviewing this matter with legal counsel and expressly reserve all rights.”
Update: This article has been edited to clarify that Shiraz argued the 2026 selection process for the next Miss Israel is rigged. She did not claim that the 2024 or 2025 competitions were predetermined.
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