Saudi authorities announced on Friday, July 22, the arrest of a man who helped a “non-Muslim” go to Mecca after controversy was sparked by an Israeli journalist’s video showing the first holy place of Islam entered.
The video by Israeli Channel 13 journalist Gil Tamary sparked an avalanche of backlash on social media in the Muslim Gulf monarchy this week. “A civic accomplice who directed and facilitated the entry of a non-Muslim journalist with American citizenship into the Holy City was handed over to prosecutors,” Mecca police spokesman said.
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“A Direct Violation”
Because Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic ties — despite the United States trying to bring the two countries closer together — nationals of the Jewish state can only enter the kingdom with a second passport if they are of multiple nationalities. This was “a direct violation of the regulations that prohibit non-Muslims from entering Mecca,” said the police spokesman, specifying that “legal action” would be taken against this “accomplice”. In addition, “the case of the journalist who committed this crime has been referred to the Attorney General’s Office, who will take the necessary action,” he added, without specifying whether the journalist in question was Gil Tamary.
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In his 10-minute video, Gil Tamary walks to Mount Arafat, an essential and sacred step in the great pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj, which took place in early July this year. In the images, Gil Tamary himself acknowledges that his presence is illegal and congratulates himself on being “the first Israeli journalist to make a video here, and it’s in Hebrew.” On Tuesday, he apologized and said his goal was “to show the importance of Mecca and the beauty of Islam.” But his statements did not calm anger in the media and on social networks, where the hashtag “a Jew in the holy mosque” was circulating.
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