Pressure mounts for SA to boycott Miss Universe in Israel

Protestors boycotting against the Miss Universe pageant in Israel have given Miss SA a deadline to pull out of the controversial competition.

 

This comes amid growing criticism of this year’s host, apartheid Israel. 

 

Some South Africans, civil rights groups, and political parties want Lalela Mswane to boycott the pageant in protest against Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

 

The South African government has since announced its withdrawal of support for Miss SA to compete in the Miss Universe event.

 

Human rights group, Africa4Palestine staged a protest at Miss SA’s offices in Sandton on Friday.

 

Less than 100 protestors held banners with Mswane’s image splashed across them with calls to “Do the right thing”. 

 

Prominent politicians joined the protest in solidarity, including Chief Mandla Mandela, ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini, SACP’s Solly Mapaila, and Cosatu’s Bheki Ntshalintshali. 

 

Mandela said the injustices committed against Palestinians remain a sore point for South Africa, a country with an extensive history of oppression. 

 

“We are gathered here today to remind ourselves of a brutal past that we experienced. That brutal past, the struggle for liberation was only fought on these home grounds but it was fought in the frontier states, it was tough in the African continent, it was fought in the international community.

 

“We witnessed the international community standing side by side with us in our fight to realise a free and democratic South Africa. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters stood side by side with us in the trenches, they fought for us to realise our freedom in our lifetime.

 

“Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people,” Mandela added.

 

Mswane’s voice has been missing for the raging debate, while the Miss SA institution is adamant the 24-year-old law graduate made the final call to go ahead with the competition that will be held in December. 

 

The institution’s management did not come out to meet the protesters that braved the blistering heat.

 

Meanwhile the Jewish Board of Deputies believes boycotting the pageant is a missed opportunity for peace-building.