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Six Women Audition for Miss Universe Israel at NYC Casting, Including Attorney, Artist, and Model
(From left) Miss Universe Israel Director Edgar Saakyan, Miss Universe Israel 2024 Ofir Korsia, and a member of the Miss Universe Israel organization pose together for a photo at the New York City casting on Feb. 12, 2025. Photo: Provided
Six women auditioned in New York City last week to compete in the Miss Universe Israel beauty pageant, and they include a Mexican-born attorney, a sixth-generation New Yorker and mother of two, and the reigning Miss Central Jersey.
Wednesday’s casting at a gallery in Manhattan was judged by Miss Universe Israel Director Edgar Saakyan; Joseph Shine, vice president of Miss Universe Israel; Michael Levitis, chairman of the board of directors of Miss Universe Israel; Miss Universe Israel 2024 Ofir Korsia; and Tobi Rubenstein, founder of the House of Faith and Fashion.
Jewish artist, designer, and entrepreneur Elizabeth Sutton was among the women who auditioned on Wednesday. Her gallery in Chelsea hosted the open casting.
“I feel that now more than ever, Israel needs a representative that stands firmly with their value system and integrity, in alignment with what is right and good, despite the negative blowback of public opinion,” the mother of two, 35, told The Algemeiner. “Since childhood, having spent all my summers in Israel, [the country] has been a part of my core identity, providing me with some of the most precious and spiritual moments in my life. I’ve watched the country develop over the decades — the infrastructure, the innovation. The inventions the Israeli society has contributed towards humanity are impactful and vast, enhancing the lives of every individual on this planet.”
“I have and will stand unwavering in my support of Israel, and the experience of publicly supporting Israel, despite all the business loss I experienced, is yet another learning opportunity for me,” she added. “It has taught me that when you are aligned with your value system, God will always take care of you. These lessons of resilience are ones I’d love to share on an international and public forum.”
The others who auditioned on Wednesday include attorney and pro-Israel activist Adela Cojab, a 28-year-old born in Mexico who also has Syrian-Lebanese roots; model Rachel Leah, 21; conservative media personality and podcaster Justine Murray, 26, who also holds the title of Miss Central Jersey 2024 in the Miss America organization; and Jordan Cohen, a 27-year-old who does marketing for an asset management firm. Five contestants attended the casting in person, and one participated remotely, Levitis told The Algemeiner. His 20-year-old daughter, Mina Levitis, was the Miss Universe Israel runner-up last year.
Three participants from the casting in Manhattan were chosen to join others from the US and Israel and advance to the final round of Miss Universe Israel, whose winner will go on to represent the Jewish state in the Miss Universe pageant.
“The ideal candidate is either an Israeli or Jewish-American woman who is not only presentable but is also a strong advocate for the State of Israel, as well as someone with personal and professional accomplishments,” Levitis told The Algemeiner. “The winner will have to wear two crowns — one of a beauty queen and the other of the representative of the Jewish Nation. The winner must be brave and sophisticated enough to handle any Israel-related question posed to her on the world stage.”
The Miss Universe Israel pageant will be held at the end of June in the Miami area, followed by the Miss Universe pageant in November. The exact location of the Miss Universe Israel pageant will only be disclosed to registered guests as a security measure, Levitis explained. Due to the Israel-Hamas war that began in 2023, the pageant will be held in the US as opposed to Israel for the second year in a row. The contest is open to applicants who are Jewish or Israeli and there is no age limit.
Adela Cajab with Miss Universe Israel 2024 Ofir Korsia at the NYC casting on Feb. 12, 2025. Photo: Provided
Miss Universe Israel 2024 Ofir Korsia with Rachel Leah at the NYC casting on Feb. 12, 2025. Photo: Provided
Jordan Cohen at the NYC casting on Feb. 12, 2025. Photo: Provided
Miss Universe Israel 2024 Ofir Korsia with Adela Cojab and Elizabeth Sutton at the NYC casting on Feb. 12, 2025. Photo: Provided
The post Six Women Audition for Miss Universe Israel at NYC Casting, Including Attorney, Artist, and Model first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.