Rana Raslan
Rana Raslan is an Arab-Israeli and former model from Haifa who won the Miss Israel title in 1999. She was the first, and so far the only, Israeli-Arab to win the first place. She also represented Israel at the 1999 Miss Universe beauty pageant.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Raslan's nomination as a feat of democracy in Israel.
Rana Raslan describes herself as a "secular Muslim" in responding to accusations of Muslim fundamentalists regarding immorality – specifically in reference to the swimsuit part of the pageant. Raslan's father is a Muslim-Arab, whereas her mother is a convert from Christianity to Islam.
