“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Everyone has heard the quote countless times, and it seems to make sense. But is it really always true?

The annual Miss Universe Beauty Pageant sparked heated controversy earlier this January when Miss Israel Doron Matalon posted a “selfie”  with Miss Lebanon Saly Greige. “Good morning from us!” read the caption of Matalon’s photo that appeared on her Instagram feed, causing fury to spread like a wildfire across viewers. Because of the cross-border hostilities between Lebanon and Israel, people were enraged to see the representatives from each country together in a casual photo.

Some may argue that this picture is worth a thousand words, such as ‘peace,’ ‘unity,’ and ‘friendship.’ Perhaps the picture symbolizes the contestants’ calls for tranquility and harmony. Maybe, the reason so many were angered by the picture was that these girls were going beyond their countries’ limits in order to show how simple it was to have a peaceful relationship with someone from the opposing country.

However, Greige quickly distanced herself from the photo, saying that while she was taking photos with Miss Japan and Miss Slovenia, “suddenly Miss Israel jumped in, took a selfie, and put it on her social media.

After issuing this statement, Greige also posted the same photo on her Instagram, except Matalon was cropped out of the photo. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Greige was going out of her way to show off her friendship with Matalon. Nevertheless, Matalon was still supportive of Greige. She posted a screenshot of a headline, “Miss Lebanon in Trouble” on her Instagram and captioned it, “It doesn’t surprise me, but it still makes me sad.”

“Too bad you can not put the hostility out of the game, only for three weeks of an experience of a lifetime that we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country,” then said Matalon.

Those involved in the Miss Universe Organization along with some fans of Miss Lebanon Saly Greige were also quick to support her, claiming that the point of the beauty pageant is to create international friendships between those who participate. The president of the Organization, Paula M. Shugart, agreed but also pointed out the fact that these girls are the living embodiments of their countries for this particular event.

“As people, they genuinely like each other but they need to be cognizant that they are wearing a sash representing their country. Obviously, certain countries have inherent hostilities, and I encourage contestants to talk to each other but I do not have them room together,” Shugart said.

If you are asked to work together and spend time with a player from a rival team outside of the sport itself, you do not constantly bash that player throughout the event. Most likely, you are calm and collected–perhaps cool, but maybe even friendly. The beauty pageant obviously is more complex than this since it is projected on an international scale, but similarly, while women from every country are working together in a single charitable event such as this pageant, they are peaceful and cordial with each other despite their countries’ foreign relations.

Though there has been great malice between Lebanon and Israel for years, neither of the women should be condemned for their appearance in the same photo. A trifling deed such as that should not cause the Lebanese to demand that Greige step down from her title as Miss Lebanon, who is quickly trying to distance herself from the photo because of its consequences.

“Since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss Universe, I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel, who tried several times to take a photo with me,” Greige claimed defensively in reaction to the backlash from several Lebanese.

She was seemingly aware that being in such a photo would cause controversy, and who knows–maybe she really did try her best to avoid Matalon. But why should she? Why should it matter if Miss Lebanon and Miss Israel are in a “selfie” together?

Yes, maybe a picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe the picture truly represents the women trying to find peace and friendship in the midst of their countries’ war.

But maybe not. Maybe the photo is not worth many words at all, and Miss Israel did not intend to portray Miss Lebanon as any more than an acquaintance. And even if she did, so what?

These women aren’t politicians dealing with foreign affairs–they are working together with the common charitable platform of fighting against AIDS and HIV. Regardless of any conflicts of interest between countries, can any single country deny that the Miss Universe Organization has a fantastic cause?

Even if countries cannot put aside their hostilities for a harmless pageant that supports such a great cause, they should not criticize their Miss Universe contestants for forming relationships with others, or for simply being in a seemingly meaningless “selfie” with someone in a conflicting country.