Activists of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement have called for the boycott of Miss Universe 2021, “to be hosted by apartheid Israel in December.”
“Israel’s far-right apartheid regime oppresses all Palestinians. We urge participants to do no harm to our struggle for freedom, justice, and equality by withdrawing from the pageant,” tweeted Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
In an attempt to highlight the war crimes and human rights violations committed by Israel against Palestinians, the Palestinian activists have launched hashtags #BoycottMissUniverse and #thereisnobeautyinapartheid to urge all the participants to withdraw from the beauty contest.
The Palestinian group released a statement stating that the Israeli city of Eilat was built on the ruins of Umm al- Rashrash, a Palestinian village whose population was ethnically cleansed during the 1948 Nakba.
Miss Universe 2021 will be the 70th Miss Universe pageant, to be held on December 12, this year, in Eilat.
Netizens raised questions such as ‘how can a platform that tries to empower, host in an oppressive state?’
The Miss Universe Malaysia Organization has announced that it won’t be sending a candidate to Israel due to the worsening COVID-19 situation.
Mandla Mandela, grandson of former South African president and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela also called for the boycott of the event, citing Israel’s human rights violations in Palestine.
