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Newly Crowned Miss Israel Melanie Shiraz Discusses Prep for Miss Universe Pageant, Not Being Bothered by ‘Haters’
Melanie Shiraz being crowned Miss Israel 2025. Photo: Simon Soong | Edgar Entertainment
The newly crowned Miss Universe Israel 2025 Melanie Shiraz talked to The Algemeiner on Monday about preparations for the Miss Universe pageant in November, hostility and hateful comments she’s faced from Israel haters, and how she’s settling into her new title.
The Israel native was crowned on Thursday night at the Hilton Miami Aventura Hotel in Florida. The 26-year-old competed as “Miss Caesarea” and succeeds Miss Universe Israel 2024 Ofir Korsia. Shiraz will go on to represent Israel at the international Miss Universe pageant in Thailand in November.
“I think I’m processing it a little bit more,” she told The Algemeiner on Monday. “I was pretty stunned for the first few days and now I’m kind of in strategy mode. I’m trying to figure out what projects I want to line up for the coming weeks and months.”
Shiraz also said she is beginning to strategize what organizations she wants to work with, both in and out of the Jewish community, and what kind of impact she wants to have as the new Miss Universe Israel.
When asked how she feels representing Israel in an international arena like the Miss Universe pageant, she replied, “I think especially now, because it’s a time of hostility and war, this is exactly why we need to be represented.” She said it would be a “travesty” for Israel not to seize this opportunity and represent itself proudly in front of the international community.
“This is a platform we can use to show the world who we are,” she explained. “As women, we are diverse, brilliant, beautiful. We have so much potential. We are kind, graceful. And it’s something that I want to show the world. I want to make sure that the way that I represent Israel is one that will make people who are already antagonistic or have animosity, reconsider. And that might be the international audience, and it might even be my fellow contestants, who might have some antagonism towards me.”
“I want to introduce myself as Melanie, and for them to get to know me, and see me as a kind person, and that I don’t have animosity towards them,” Shiraz added. “And maybe then they’ll realize if I’m an extension of Israel, maybe Israelis are not what they thought they were.”
Both of Shiraz’s parents were born in Israel. The last name Shiraz hails from her mother’s side of the family. The beauty queen said a distant family member, far back in her mother’s lineage, was from Shiraz, the southcentral city in Iran, and that’s where the name stems from. Shiraz was born in Israel but moved with her family to the US when she was young. She remained in the States until she finished her studies at the University of California, Berkeley in 2020. She then moved back to Israel and has been living in the Jewish state for roughly four or five years. “I was just so eager to come back to Israel,” she said.
Shiraz currently lives in Tel Aviv, though she is traveling to the US a lot more now since being crowned Miss Universe Israel. She competed in the Miss Israel competition as Miss Caesarea because “Miss Tel Aviv” was already taken by a fellow contestant. Shiraz said she ultimately chose to compete wearing the sash of Caesarea because it’s one of her favorite places in Israel and is historic and beautiful – which she thinks represents Israel perfectly.
From Berkeley, Shiraz has a degree in data science and another degree in interdisciplinary field studies, centered around Israel, Israeli politics, and social sciences. She was vice president of Chabad at the school, briefly vice president of the Jewish Student Union, was involved in Hillel, and helped arrange pro-Israel protests and counterprotests.
As soon as she graduated Berkeley, Shiraz started her career as a data scientist, working with a financial technology startup. She later co-founded a fintech startup in London that was offered a payment processing solution for small businesses. She worked on it for two years but left that company once the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7, 2023, because she wanted to be in Israel with her family and it was hard to run a startup remotely. She later moved on to work remotely and do strategic consulting as a data scientist for another fintech company in New York.
One of Shiraz’s best friends, 25-year-old IDF Staff Sgt. Yonatan Dean Chaim, died in December while fighting in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.
She said she has been dealing with hostility from anti-Israel activists since her time at Berkeley and also faces the same on social media, where she is very active and posts often in support of Israel. Since being crowned Miss Universe Israel, Shiraz said, “I’ve seen a lot of pro-‘Palestine’ and hateful comments but it doesn’t bother me.”
“I’m not here to fight the haters,” she noted. “I’m here to show the world who I am and who Israel is, and [I] hope to change their minds with my actions and not with my words.”
Edgar Saakyan, national director of Miss Universe Israel, praised Shiraz in a statement given to The Algemeiner on Monday.
“Beyond beauty, we were looking for a candidate who brings real substance to the role — someone with qualities that can contribute meaningfully to the country. Melanie Shiraz is confident, intelligent, and socially conscious. She represents a new generation that is not only elegant, but also thoughtful and globally aware,” Saakyan said. “I believe she will represent Israel with grace and purpose on the Miss Universe stage.”
“Our goal in organizing beauty pageants is to prepare future ambassadors of goodwill and peace,” he added. “Pageantry is a platform for building bridges across industries and cultures. I’m grateful to our judges for recognizing these values and for making a choice that reflects the spirit of our mission.”
The post Newly Crowned Miss Israel Melanie Shiraz Discusses Prep for Miss Universe Pageant, Not Being Bothered by ‘Haters’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Filmmakers Urge Distributor, Streamer to Condemn Investor Tied to Israeli Military
Director Joshua Oppenheimer at the MUBI Preview Screening for his feature film “The End” on the occasion of the 75th Berlinale at the Astor Filmlounge on 2/16/2025 in Berlin. Photo: IMAGO/Eventpress via Reuters Connect
More than 40 filmmakers signed a letter on Monday urging the distributor, production company, and streaming platform Mubi to condemn a new investor and rethink its working relationship with the latter because of its ties to the Israeli military.
Mubi, which streams films such as “The Substance,” announced in late May that it secured $100 million in funding from Sequoia Capital. The Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm has provided backing for the military defense technology startup Kela, founded in July 2024 by four veterans of Israeli military intelligence. According to an article published by Sequoia in March, Kela’s first focus is border protection, in response to the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but “in the long term, the ambition is to convert Israel into a defense tech hub for Western militaries — a source of strategic advantage for NATO and the US as they seek to deter their adversaries.”
The filmmakers who signed the letter written by Film Workers for Palestine – an international collective representing more than 9,000 creatives – claimed that Mubi’s financial success “is now explicitly tied to the genocide in Gaza, which implicates all of us that work with Mubi.”
“We don’t believe an arthouse film platform can meaningfully support a global community of cinephiles while also partnering with a company invested in murdering Palestinian artists and filmmakers,” added the group of filmmakers, which include Joshua Oppenheimer, Radu Jude, Aki Kaurismäki, and Miguel Gomes. “We expect our partners, at a minimum, to refuse to be complicit in the horrific violence being waged against Palestinians,” they further stated.
The Algemeiner obtained a copy of the letter.
The filmmakers asked Mubi to adhere to calls made by Film Workers for Palestine, which demanded that the streaming platform publicly condemn Sequoia Capital “for genocide profiteering”; remove Sequoia partner Andrew Reed from Mubi’s board of directors; include a new Mubi “ethical policy” for all future company investments; and adhere to the guidelines of two anti-Israel initiatives – the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
Film Workers for Palestine told The Algemeiner on Thursday more filmmakers have signed the letter since its publication, including Todd Chandler, Silvan Zürcher, Dominga Sotomayor, Robert Colom-Vargas, Kathryn Hamilton, and Ramon Zürcher.
Mubi did not respond to The Algemeiner‘s request for comment about the letter. The company said in a released statement in June that it decided to seek investment from Sequoia Capital to “accelerate our mission of delivering bold and visionary films to global audiences.” It added that the venture capital firm has a “50-plus year history of partnering with founders to help turn their ideas into world-changing businesses.”
“We chose to work with Sequoia because the firm, and our Sequoia Partner Andrew Reed, support MUBI’s mission and want to help us scale and bring great cinema to even more people around the world,” Mubi explained. “Over the last several days, some members of our community have commented on the decision to work with Sequoia given their investment in Israeli companies and the personal opinions expressed by one of their partners. The beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of MUBI. We take the feedback from our community very seriously, and are steadfast in remaining an independent founder-led company.”
Multiple Mubi programming partners as well as venues collaborating with Mubi Fest – an annual, worldwide film festival – ended partnerships with the company because of its ties to Sequoia Capital. Those that have decided to withdraw their partnerships with Mubi include ‘Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), Mexico City’s Cineteca Nacional, the Cinemateca de Bogota, and Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF).
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Iranian President Says Country Is on Brink of Dire Water Crisis
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Photo: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian warned against excessive water consumption which he said was untenable for the country and could leave Tehran facing severe shortages by September, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.
Faced with resource mismanagement and over-consumption, Iran has faced recurrent electricity, gas, and water shortages during peak demand months.
“In Tehran, if we cannot manage and people do not cooperate in controlling consumption, there won’t be any water in dams by September or October,” Pezeshkian said on Thursday.
The country has faced drought conditions for the last five years according to the director of the Environmental Protection Organization Sheena Ansari and the Meteorological Organization recorded a 40 percent drop in rainfall over the last four months compared to a long-term average.
“Neglecting sustainable development has led to the fact that we are now facing numerous environmental problems like water stress,” Ansari told state media on Thursday.
Excessive water consumption represents a major challenge for water management in Iran, with the head of Tehran province’s water and wastewater company Mohsen Ardakani telling Mehr news agency that 70 percent of Tehran residents consume more than the standard 130 liters a day.
Natural resource management has been a chronic challenge for authorities, whether it is natural gas consumption or water use, as solutions require major reforms, notably in the agricultural sector which represents as much as 80 percent of water consumption.
On Wednesday, Pezeshkian rejected a government proposal to impose a day-off on Wednesdays or having a one-week holiday during the summer, saying that “closing down is a cover-up and not a solution to the water shortage problem.”
In the summer of 2021, protests took place against water shortages in southwestern Iran.
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Trump: ‘Fastest Way’ to End Gaza War Is for Hamas to Surrender, Release Hostages
US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, DC, US, June 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US President Donald Trump issued a stern message to Hamas on Thursday, saying that the Palestinian terrorist group should “surrender” and release the 50 hostages it is still holding in order to end suffering in Gaza.
“The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The message came shortly after US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to salvage Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Doha ended in deadlock last week. Israel and the US both recalled their negotiators, with Witkoff saying that Hamas has not been acting in good faith and “clearly shows a lack of desire” to reach a deal.
“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” Witkoff posted on X/Twitter at the time. “We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza. It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way. We are resolute in seeking an end to this conflict and a permanent peace in Gaza.”
Witkoff’s statement came as Israeli officials also confirmed pulling its negotiating team from Qatar for consultations, accusing Hamas of altering the terms of a potential ceasefire agreement just as talks appeared to be gaining momentum.
Gaps between Israel and Hamas continue to linger over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal.
Witkoff arrived with Israel facing mounting international pressure over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has been devastated after nearly 22 months of war.
Israel on Wednesday sent a response to Hamas’s latest amendments to a US proposal that would see a 60-day ceasefire and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a source familiar with the details said.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
In recent days, photos and reports of starved and malnourished children in Gaza have reignited international pressure for a ceasefire and opening of supply routes. Meanwhile, UN agencies and NGOs warned that Gaza’s residents face severe food insecurity, and the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims that 156 people have died from malnutrition in the war-torn enclave.
The Israeli government has facilitated the entry of thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, with officials condemning international aid agencies for their alleged failure to distribute supplies, which have largely been stalled at border crossings.
On Sunday, Israel said it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and designate secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Wednesday the United Nations and its partners had been able to bring more food into Gaza in the first two days of pauses, but the volume was “still far from enough.”
Israel’s Public Broadcaster Kan said Witkoff would also visit an aid distribution site in Gaza.
CALLS ON HAMAS TO DISARM
Hamas is still holding 50 hostages in Gaza, of whom around 20 are believed to be alive.
Netanyahu has said he will not end the war until Hamas no longer rules the enclave and lays down its arms. Hamas has rejected calls to disarm.
Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating the ceasefire efforts, backed a declaration on Tuesday by France and Saudi Arabia which outlined steps for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The declaration says Hamas “must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.” Israel has ruled out the PA gaining control of Gaza. One reason why is that the PA, which has long been riddled with accusations of corruption, has also maintained for years a so-called “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for carrying out attacks against Israelis. Under the policy, the Palestinian Authority Martyr’s Fund makes official payments to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the families of “martyrs” killed in attacks on Israelis, and injured Palestinian terrorists. Reports estimate that approximately 8 percent of the PA’s budget is allocated to paying stipends to convicted terrorists and their families.
Israel has denounced declarations by France, Britain, and Canada since last week that they may recognize a Palestinian state, which Israel says amounts to rewarding Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israeli territory.
That attack, when Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages back to Gaza, started the war.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that international efforts to recognize a Palestinian state in order to pressure Israel amounted to “rewarding” Hamas terrorists, adding, “I’m not about to do that.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, embarking on a visit to Israel, said negotiations for a two-state solution must begin, while for Germany the recognition of a Palestinian state would come at the end of that process.