Next Miss Israel may not be Israeli, 2025 winner warns 'Post' about rigged pageant - exclusive

The integrity of the Miss Israel pageant is under scrutiny, with the 2025 winner, Melanie Shiraz, alleging that franchise holder Edgar Entertainment is manipulating the selection process. Shiraz warns that the next Miss Israel may not be Israeli, as the organization allegedly plans to choose from a pool of preselected candidates in a contest designed to appear legitimate.

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I represented Israel during one of the most difficult periods in our country’s history. That’s why it has been deeply upsetting to watch the title become increasingly disconnected from Israel itself.

Shiraz expressed deep disappointment, stating that the title has become increasingly disconnected from Israel itself. "A title called Miss Israel should belong to Israelis and give voice to the people whose story it is supposed to tell," she said. She emphasized that representing Israel, especially during challenging times, requires a profound understanding of Israeli culture, society, and language.

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A title called Miss Israel should belong to Israelis and give voice to the people whose story it is supposed to tell. If it no longer does, then what exactly does Miss Israel mean anymore?

According to Shiraz, only one of the preselected candidates had recently acquired Israeli citizenship. She understood that the franchise owner intended for the selected candidate to apply for Israeli citizenship before the Miss Universe competition. For the past two years, the competition has been run from Miami instead of Israel, actively encouraging non-Israeli Jews to participate.

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I know some other countries, I believe that we did last year with Estonia, they made it look like a pageant; and we did it with Armenia, they made it look like a pageant - this year it's going to be something a little bit different.

Further fueling these concerns, a recording reviewed by The Jerusalem Post reveals a producer from Edgar Entertainment discussing how to create a "surprise element" in crowning moments. The producer mentioned that similar pageant-like selections were potentially conducted for Miss Estonia and Miss Armenia competitions. Shiraz finds the prospect of a predetermined outcome as troubling as the process itself, which she believes should be a platform for discovering new Israeli talent.

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For us, the surprise element was a big thing, because we look at a lot of these crowning moments and there is no excitement or joy or surprise element behind winning like in a real pageant, so we did want to have that moment of excitement of you didn't know you were going to win and now you won.