World

Miss Indonesia pageant removes contestant after pro-Israel video goes viral

A social media video showed Merince Kogoya participating in a Zionist rally, waving the flag of the Jewish state and dancing

July 3, 2025 14:36
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Merince Koyoga was dropped from the Miss Idonesia pageant after a video of her at a pro-Israel parade went viral (Image: Instagram/@kogoya_merry)
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Miss Indonesia 2025 contestant Merince Kogoya was disqualified after a two-year-old video showing her expressing her Christian faith by supporting Israel resurfaced on Instagram.

The May 2023 video showed Kogoya participating in a pro-Israel rally, waving the flag of the Jewish state and dancing. The caption, translated online, read: "Diligent for Zion, loyal to Jerusalem, standing for Israel."

Kogoya, an indigenous Papuan who represented Indonesia's Highland Papua province, was removed from the pageant during the quarantine phase after the video footage went viral on social media last week.

The Miss Indonesia Organisation did not comment on the controversy and quietly removed her from the pageant, replacing her with Karmen Anastasya, the province's runner-up, The Jakarta Globe reported.

In a statement posted to her Instagram story on Monday, Miss Highland Papua defended herself, saying the video was not political but rather expressed her faith.

"I was simply practicing my faith as a follower of Christ by praying and offering blessings, but an old video from my reels went viral with many false interpretations about my beliefs," wrote Kogoya.

However, Kogoya's Instagram profile still includes the phrase "I stand with Israel," as well as an emoji of the Jewish state's flag.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country with a population of some 220 million Muslims, does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

In April 2024, Ynet reported that Israel was set to normalise relations with Indonesia after months of talks between Jerusalem and Jakarta.

In exchange for establishing diplomatic ties with the Jewish state, Israel would reportedly drop objections to Jakarta becoming a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Although the two countries do not share formal diplomatic relations, cooperation exists in trade, technology and tourism. Indonesia was reportedly one of the Muslim-majority countries that Jerusalem was working to add to the Abraham Accords in the months before Hamas's October 7, 2023 massacre.

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