Rina Messinger represented the country of Israel at Miss Universe 1976 on 11th July 1976 at the Lee Theatre in Hong Kong and was crowned as the winner at the end of the event finale. She is an Israeli lawyer, writer, and the first Miss Israel ever to win the crown. Upon her proclamation as the winner, she remarked, "I'm no politician. I think my being Miss Universe will show people that Israel has another side, not only war." After her reign as Miss Universe, Messinger worked in public relations for the Jewish Agency and Israel Bonds in New York. After four years she returned to Israel and continued working in public relations for a private company. She started studying Law in 1991 and s currently a lawyer at Tel Aviv.