EILAT, Israel, Dec 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu was

crowned Miss Universe in the Israeli city of Eilat early Monday, with several
contestants defying pressure to boycott in support of the Palestinians.

  The 70th edition of the annual pageant, held in Israel for the first time,
has also faced complications from the coronavirus pandemic.

  Sandhu took the top prize in the Red Sea resort with Paraguay's Nadia
Ferreira first runner-up and Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane taking the
second runner-up spot.

  South Africa's Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts had urged its
contestant to stay away from Eilat, citing "atrocities committed by Israel
against Palestinians."

  The call echoed Palestinian groups who pleaded with contestants to avoid
the event.

  The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
wrote: "We urge all participants to withdraw, to avoid complicity in Israel's
apartheid regime and its violation of Palestinian human rights."

  The 80 contestants also included Miss Morocco Kawtar Benhalima and Miss
Bahrain Manar Nadeem Deyani, whose majority Muslim nations normalised ties
with Israel last year.

  In an interview with AFP in Jerusalem late last month, the outgoing Miss
Universe Andrea Meza, of Mexico, said the pageant should steer clear of
politics.

  "Miss Universe isn't a political movement, nor a religious one. It's about
women and what they can offer."

  Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, nations that do not have diplomatic
relations with Israel, have not sent contestants but both cited complications
related to the pandemic, not Israel's rights record.

  The United Arab Emirates, which also normalised ties with Israel last year
and where Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made a historic visit Sunday, has
also not sent a candidate.

  But the UAE said that was "due to time constraints," in selecting its
national winner.

  - 'Criticism' -

  Contestants for the pageant landed in Israel late last month and have since
toured sites, sometimes coming under criticism for cultural insensitivity.

  In one stop in the Bedouin city of Rahat, the candidates wore robes with
traditional Palestinian embroidery while rolling grape leaves -- which Miss
Philippines Beatrice Luigi Gomez tweeted was a "Day in the life of a
Bedouin."

  The Bedouin are a traditionally nomadic people who belong to the community
of Palestinian citizens of Israel. They have long complained of
discrimination in housing and education.

  "Colonialism, racism, cultural appropriation, patriarchy, whitewashing, all
in one place," tweeted Ines Abdel Razek of the advocacy group the Palestine
Institute for Public Diplomacy.

  Participants in the pageant, which was co-owned by Donald Trump before he
became US president, must be between the ages of 18 and 28 and may never have
married or had a child.

  According to organisers, the coronation ceremony will be watched by 600
million viewers in 172 countries.