All through that hour and a half I was rooting for the South African contestant, who came to Israel despite pressure from the modern antisemites of her home country who tried to prevent it. She made it to the final 16, then final 10, then final 5, then final 3. (Yes, the broadcast is a little padded.) Unfortunately, she didn't win.
The best parts were the many short films showing the contestants visiting all of Israel - and in the short time they were there, they sure saw a lot! Jaffa, Haifa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Sea of Galilee, Masada, the Judean Desert, Caesarea, Bedouin encampments, Nazareth, the Ramon Crater - and so many more places. The contestants were thrilled to be in Israel; the Mexico contestant was almost in tears at the opportunity to see it.
This was the real Israel that was shown.
They also showed off the great food they ate, and the Israel haters are no doubt very angry at so many examples of Israeli cuisine that borrowed from so many other cultures, from fancy ice cream to shakshuka.
Israel's Ministry of Tourism took advantage of the invaluable publicity and had a commercial for viewers to book a trip. But the entire three hours was a fantastic advertisement for Israel. I didn't watch Eurovision, but I doubt that they showed off the country as much as Miss Universe did.
Not one nation withdrew from the competition because of the boycott. Several had COVID issues, and it is possible that Malaysia and Indonesia used COVID as an excuse not to participate, but unless a competitor says that they are withdrawing because they hate Israel, no one can claim a BDS victory.
There were a couple of other interesting subplots.
One was that the other Muslim participants were feeling much pressure from their home countries. Yet they came through with poise and didn't cave to the haters.
Another story was that the Israeli organizers tried to get the Miss Universe organization to drop the swimsuit competition because it objectifies women.
They didn't succeed, but an unlikely heroine came out of it. On Friday, during the preliminary round where every contestant modeled a swimsuit, the Bahraini contestant came out fully covered in an attractive activewear outfit.
This is especially impressive since she is the first Bahraini contestant for Miss Universe, ever. And to imagine that the first Miss Universe Bahrain would be competing in Israel is still mind-blowing.
There are a lot of very angry people who tried so hard to get the world to boycott this show. They not only failed, but they failed spectacularly. And Israel looks wonderful.
