Miss Universe Morocco, the first contestant from the North African country since 1978, took part in a historic Miss Universe pageant on Monday, which was hosted for the first time in Israel.
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"Miss Universe for me was an extension of the … activities I wanted to pursue for myself, since Miss Universe is a platform that promotes unity, that promotes social inclusivity, that promotes collaboration and empowerment," Kawtar Benhalima explained.
Saad Bennani, president and national director of the Miss Universe Morocco organization told i24NEWS, "Learning that it was going to happen in Israel made me very, very happy."
"It's amazing, it's so rich, it's so diverse," she said, adding that she felt very welcomed by the people in Israel.
Bennani and Benhalima also noted that they found frequent connections to Morocco wherever they went in Israel, illustrating Israel's ties to the country through its Moroccan Jewish community.
"Every time we said that we are from Morocco, we found common links," Bennani said.
"People would say that their parents are from Morocco, or their grandmother is from Morocco, so it was always lovely to hear these stories and connect via this Moroccan-Israeli link that we have."
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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