Six months after receiving death threats, Miss Iraq reunites with Miss Israel

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Six months ago, Sarah Idan and her family received death threats because of a photo the Miss Iraq model took with her Miss Israel counterpart Adar Gandelsman. On Monday, the pair reunited, this time at a photoshoot for a magazine.

According to Israeli media, while in Jerusalem for the photoshoot, the pair had toured the Mahane Yehuda Market in the city where they ate okra at a popular Iraqi-Jewish restaurant.

Idan posted one of the photos from the shoot to her official Instagram page as well as a video of the two women enjoying lunch at the restaurant in Jerusalem.

Last December, the family of Iraq’s Miss Universe Pageant contestant fled Iraq due to security concerns over the woman’s modeling in a bikini and posting photos taken with Miss Israel on social media.

During a competition in Las Vegas, United States, in November, both Idan and Gandelsman posed for photos to post on their respective social media pages.

Idan posted a photo of her and Gandelsman with the caption: “Peace and Love from Miss Iraq and Miss Israel.”

Following the post, Idan, who lives in the US, said her family faced threats to their lives and were forced to leave Iraq.

Despite the controversial news of her family’s forced displacement, she has not removed the photo from her Instagram account, instead, defending the picture in a post written in Arabic.

“I want to stress that the purpose of the picture was only to express hope and desire for peace between the two countries,” she wrote last year.