Nadene Goldfoot
Melanie Shiraz, Miss Israel, born November 13, 1998 in Israel age 27, with the 2026 competition that has been heavily delayed and thrown into controversy after she accused the U.S.-based pageant organizers of attempting to predetermine a winner and stage a "fake" crowning ceremony. She is a data scientist and tech entrepreneur. She's smart and after hearing her conversation on ISIL, when she was interviewed, wouldn't want any other woman to have this position. She has seen through what's been happening. Her education has been at Univ. of Calif, Berkeley, and Tel Aviv Univ. She wants Jews to be proud of who they are, and right now are being attacked for who they are. Lebanon has been thrown up in our faces time and again.
Melanie Shiraz Asor is an Israeli beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Israel in 2025. She represented Israel at the Miss Universe 2025 pageant, which took place on 21 November 2025 in Thailand . She had been living in Miami as well as Israel and stated that Miss Israel should be someone from Israel that could speak Hebrew, and that wasn't the idea of the organizers of Trump who had been running Miss Universe Contests for many years.
The US-based organizers of the Miss Israel pageant were planning to appoint a winner of their choosing this year without the involvement of independent judges or holding a full-on pageant, the current titleholder, Melanie Shiraz, said this past week.
The accusation, backed up by video evidence, came alongside other charges from Shiraz, including that non-Israeli contestants had been encouraged to apply and acquire Israeli citizenship later, meaning that the contest would have little connection to Israel, despite Miss Israel representing the Jewish state on a major global platform. She had left her start-up to enter the contest and felt she was helping Israel this way. She has been in the midst of terrible antiSemitic slander that that she has tried to correct.
"My path didn’t start and end with technology. At Berkeley, I was deeply involved in Jewish and Israel advocacy on campus—standing up for my community, making the case for Israel and learning how to tell a story in rooms where it wasn’t always welcome. That experience taught me resilience, conviction and the importance of representation. Those lessons stayed with me long after I left the campus quad and entered the startup world."
The allegations sparked a public dispute between Shiraz and the Miss Israel organization, which cut her off on Friday.
Shiraz has been targeted with online abuse since being named Miss Universe Israel. She has criticized Nadeen Ayoub for using her platform to spread falsehoods about the October 7 attacks and the Gaza War. Nadeen Ayoub is a Palestinian model, and beauty pageant titleholder. As Miss Universe Palestine 2025, she was the first representative of Palestine at Miss Universe 2025, where she reached the top 30.
Donald Trump co-owned and held the Miss Universe Organization (which also included Miss USA and Miss Teen USA) from 1996 to 2015 . He purchased the pageants from ITT Corp and eventually sold the organization to WME/IMG in September 2015 . WME/IMG owned and operated the Miss Universe Organization from September 2015 through October 2022. During this "Endeavor/IMG Era" , the talent agency transitioned the pageant's image away from superficiality toward empowering female leadership, eventually selling the organization to JKN Global Group.
JKN Global Group is a Thai multinational media, content distribution, and consumer products conglomerate. Founded in 2014 by CEO Jakkaphong "Anne" Jakrajutatip, the firm previously owned major brands like the Miss Universe Organization . The company has faced severe financial and legal turmoil in recent years, culminating in its delisting from the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Resource: but continuation below resources:
https://www.jns.org/opinion/melanie-shiraz/why-i-left-tech-entrepreneurship-to-become-miss-israel
Shiraz was born in Israel. She is the daughter of Israeli commentator Estee Shiraz.Shiraz has been targeted with online abuse since being named Miss Universe Israel. She has criticized Nadeen Ayoub for using her platform to spread falsehoods about the October 7 attacks and the Gaza War.The family moved to the United States when Melanie was young. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a double degree in Data Science and Interdisciplinary Studies. She was also involved in Chabad, the campus Jewish Student Union, and Hillel. She returned to Israel shortly after graduating. After working in Silicon Valley, she earned an MBA at Tel Aviv University and co-founded a fintech startup in London.
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