A Swedish-Lebanese beauty queen was stripped of her title this week after pageant organizers discovered she visited Israel in 2016. According to the Beirut-based Al Modon newspaper, Amanda Hanna won the Miss Lebanon Emigrant 2017 pageant earlier this month, but was informed by organizers -- the Festival of Lebanese Emigrants in Dhour El Choueir -- that as she used her Swedish passport on an academic trip to Israel in 2016, she would no longer be allowed to keep her crown. "After communicating our decision with Lebanon's tourism minister, he decided that Hanna should be stripped of her title because her visit to Israel violates our country's laws," a statement by the organizers, quoted Wednesday by the British newspaper The Independent, said. Israel and Lebanon have fought several wars, most recently in 2006, and technically still remain in a state of war. Lebanon bars any travel, trade or cultural involvement with the Jewish state. Israel maintains a similar ban on visits and trade with Lebanon. Taking to Facebook, Hanna wrote, "At first I was skeptical about it, but it turned out that I was wrong. It has been one of the best weeks of my life, where I have, among other things, had to go around in Lebanon & visit wonderful places. I've gotten to know people who have come to stand close to me & I have developed in particular as a person. It has been a wonderful trip & I am incredibly happy that I participated." The incident was not the first time Lebanon's anti-Israel laws have affected the world of beauty pageants. During the 2015 Miss Universe competition, Miss Lebanon Saly Greige almost lost her title for posing for a selfie with then-Miss Israel Doron Matalon.
