An Israeli journalist has flouted a total ban on non-Muslims access to Islam’s holiest site in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, sparking an online backlash and potentially straining growing ties between Tel Aviv and the Gulf states.
Israel’s Channel 13 News on Monday aired a 10-minute report in which journalist Gil Tamary drove past the Grand Mosque, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba, Islam’s holiest sanctuary, and climbed the Mount of Mercy.
Tamary, who was accompanied by a local guide whose face was blurred to prevent identification, lowered his voice while speaking to the camera in Hebrew, sometimes switching to English to avoid identifying himself as an Israeli.
The report was billed as a scoop and the journalist became the first Jewish Israeli reporter to document the annual Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj.
The footage received strong online backlash, with the Twitter hashtag “A Jew in the Grand Mosque of Mecca” trending after the report aired.
Among the critics was Mohammed Saud, a pro-Israel Saudi activist. “My dear friends in Israel, a journalist of yours entered the city of Mecca, which is holy to Islam, and shamelessly filmed there,” he said.
“Shame on you Channel 13 for so violating the religion of Islam. You’re nasty.”
Israel’s Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Freij, who is Muslim, condemned Tamary’s report as “stupid and damaging” to Israel-Gulf relations.
“It was irresponsible and damaging to air this report just for the ratings,” he added.
Excuse me
Tamary, covering US President Joe Biden’s visit in Jeddah on Friday, apologized after the online backlash and said he had no intention of offending Muslims.
“If anyone is offended by this video, I sincerely apologize,” he wrote on Twitter in English.
Disclaimer: I would like to reiterate that this visit to Mecca was not intended to offend Muslims or anyone else. If anyone finds this video offensive, I sincerely apologize. The purpose of this entire endeavor was to demonstrate the importance of Mecca and the beauty
…. https://t.co/aAxipctRrG— גיל תמרי (@tamarygil) July 19, 2022
“The purpose of this entire endeavor was to highlight the importance of Mecca and the beauty of religion, thereby promoting greater religious tolerance and inclusion,” he added.
The journalist claimed that “curiosity is the heart and center of journalism” and his reporting was guided by a desire to enable people “to see for the first time a place that is so important to our Muslim brothers and sisters, and… to human history”.
The Mount of Mercy overlooks the Plain of Arafat, revered as the place where Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon 14 centuries ago.
Mecca is the holiest place of worship for Muslims in the world, followed by the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Only Muslims are allowed to visit Mecca, while non-Muslims are not allowed to enter. Violating this rule can result in a fine or deportation.
mending ties
The Saudi media, tightly controlled by the government, did not cover the story. It was unclear whether the authorities had approved the journalist’s trip to Mecca.
Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, and the Kingdom does not recognize Israel as a state.
However, behind the scenes, both sides have been working together on security issues for some time, with shared concerns about the growing influence of their common enemy, Iran, in the region.
Saudi Arabia said last week it would open its airspace to all airlines, paving the way for more overflights to and from Israel, in another sign that relations between the two countries are warming.
The Biden administration wants Saudi Arabia to be its own complement to normalization deals known as the “Abraham Accords,” a process under former President Donald Trump that sees Israel tie up ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan normalized.