An Israeli reporter thought it would be great fun to sneak in Mecca and take selfies of himself among a million Muslims making the Hajj. A brief Jihad Watch report is here, and a full report on the reporter’s idea of amusement, and the response it predictably elicited among Arabs and other Muslims, is here: “Israeli channel ‘stands by’ journalist who snuck into Mecca despite outrage,” Janaseva, July 20, 2022:
An Israeli reporter who allegedly sneaked into the holy Muslim city of Mecca has sparked outrage online, with Muslims around the world blaming ‘disrespect’ for the warm relationship. between Tel Aviv and Riyadh.
Channel 13 journalist Gil Tamary of Israel’s Channel 13 shared a video of himself riding in a car on his way to Mecca, despite a long-standing ban on non-Muslims entering the city and region. nearby Medina.
The reporter also climbed Mount Arafat, a hill on the outskirts of Mecca, where the Prophet Muhammad gave his last sermon and Muslims gather for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. From there, he took selfies.
Pointing at the historic sites, Tamary passes by the Grand Mosque, the most important landmark in Islam. The Israeli reporter also drove through the arched Mecca Gate, the entrance to the city and a point where non-Muslims are prohibited from entering.
Failure to comply with the non-Muslim entry policy and attempt to enter may result in penalties, including fines or deportation. Then his report was published on July 18, a few days after he returned to Israel.
Despite not having diplomatic relations, Saudi Arabia and the Israeli regime have been witnessing a gradual evolution of relations. Several Israeli journalists were allowed into Saudi Arabia to cover the regional conference last week on foreign passports.
Tamary’s trip to the holy sites also comes as US President Joe Biden attended the GCC+3 Summit in Jeddah last week.
After a three-day visit to Israel, Biden arrived in Saudi Arabia on an unprecedented direct flight from Israel, a move Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called the “first formal normalization step.”
Hours before the president’s arrival, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority announced a decision to “open the kingdom’s airspace to all airlines that meet the authorities’ requirements for overflight,” in a statement.
This was a clear gesture by Saudi Arabia to show their openness to Israel before Biden arrived.
Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, is the most sacred city in Islam, and the Ka’aba the most sacred place. Before Covid, and again now, millions of Muslim pilgrims travel to Mecca to perform the Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which all Muslims physically and financially able to do must perform at least once in their lives.
They start at Mount Arafat, where Muhammad is said to have given his last sermon, and continue from there.
“The final step is the farewell Tawaf, wherein pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba anti-clockwise seven times and touching or kissing the Kaaba if possible. Pilgrims reflect on their experience and thank Allah for everything, while circumambulating the Kaaba.”
Thus do millions of Muslims, robed in white rida and izar, walk seven times widdershins round the Magic Wonderstone.
Wipe that self-satisfied grin off your face, Gil Tamary. Your little self-aggrandizing prank – look at me, everybody! An Israeli who managed to sneak into Mecca dressed as a pilgrim and even joined those performing the Hajj as they climbed Mount Arafat – has only given ammunition to those Muslims who deplore the growing Saudi ties with Israel. You have caused a world of woe for the Muslim driver whom you inveigled into driving you to the city; he is now under arrest, and god knows what punishment he will receive. You are responsible if he is harmed. And of course the Saudis had — just before your quite unnecessary little provocation — signaled another sign of warming ties to the Jewish state, by announcing that they were opening their airspace to all airplanes that met certain conditions, including those of Israel. If they now change their minds about granting Israeli planes overflight rights, it will have been a response to Gil Tamary’s miching mallecho in Mecca. One wonders if he gave a thought as to what the reaction of Jews would be if some Al Jazeera reporter in full haredi garb took selfies of himself davening at the Western Wall, or putting a piece of paper with a Qur’anic verses about Jews – held up to the camera for all to see — into one of the Wall’s crevices. Many would be offended, and they would be right.
That’s quite a stupid stunt you’ve managed, Gil Tamary. You need to be grounded, in both senses of the word.
iBexarKat says
Of course, it is a stupid stunt. But perhaps also a morality tale. By allowing only Muslims and denying infidels entry into Mecca, does that not imply that Saudi Arabia is an apartheid state?
Keith O says
My thoughts exactly.
This is just one more example of the double standards that all mudslimes hold, the superiority of Islam over everything and everyone.
If an Islamist ban was in place at somewhere like the Vatican, we would be deafened by the screams of indignity by mudslimes all over the world.
Bikinis not Burkas says
Totally and we should not play Cricket with them!
Infidel says
Fully agree w/ Hugh. While people may have reservations about the Saudis, they had been on a trajectory very unexpected from any muslim country, let alone one that contains Mecca and Medina. It’s quite likely that they might have lifted the ban on non-muslims visiting Mecca, and there was no need to break that rule before they were ready. In fact, Gil Tamari’s apology and his description of islam as a beautiful religion demonstrates why he is a fraud. It would have been one thing if a non-muslim had snuck into Mecca, done anything and after that said something like, “This is me saying 🖕 to islam”. Instead, by apologizing, Tamari just made things worse for everybody, and provided ammo to those muslims opposed to Saudi Arabia retreating from the jihadi path that they had been under all of MbS’ uncles
mortimer says
Gil Tamary’s stunt seemed to have absolutely no purpose. It’s rather sophomoric, isn’t it? Something you might expect from a teenager, but not from a grown man. He will now have to go into hiding, change his name twice and move to different cities in locales with few Muslims and then keep to himself and tell no one who he really is.
He will pay a big price for his foolhardy stunt.
Issei says
What an idiot. It was all about look at me.
somehistory says
Israel should openly condemn this fool and find some way to punish him. Not because islam is beautiful, because it isn’t. But Saudi Arabia is a nation with a government, and this idiot broke the laws there and then went back home and gloated over his lawbreaking in a very public way, gloating over his stunt.
He should face legal punishment.
mgoldberg says
Tamary is a leftist from what others have related. That said, I agree with all that Hugh opined except for one thing, and it is important. Hugh said ‘…what the reaction of Jews would be if some Al Jazeera reporter in full haredi garb took selfies of himself davening at the Western Wall,’
The answer is nothing at all.
That’s because there is no restriction against others praying at the western wall, and others frequently do- I’ve personally witnessed priests, bishops, a cardinal, I think, praying there, and it wasn’t to that which jews pray. And no one says anything, nor are the non jews not permitted, let alone thrown out.
That is a difference and a very important one, Hugh. Yes, you are correct about the reporters indiscretion, grinning about being there- but the ‘crime’ beyond his rude egotistical non informations piece, amplifies what the meaning is and difference between ‘holy’ sites of Islam and Judaism.
somehistory says
sites in islam, imo, are the most unholy.
And though I have no personal experience such as you do, I thought that anyone could approach the Wall, pray and put pieces of paper between the stones without any retribution. Thanks for confirming.
mgoldberg says
In Yathrib, there should be a cemetery built for all those jewish men, and boys who first killed in the Jihad by Mohammed, when he took over the town, and forced all the Jews to say ‘there is no G-d but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger’. All of them, All of them, went to their deaths, without says this, and for that…. he had them slaughtered. This then is the second ‘holiest’ site in Islam- the town that he slaughtered, Yathrib, founded by Jewish people, and who were murdered there- now called, Medina.
Infidel says
This is assuming that Mohammed in fact existed. If RS’ book “Did Muhammad exist?” is correct about the possibility that he didn’t, and that none of the events listed took place, then Yathrib has a different history that is worth exploring
Pray Hard says
Lucky he wasn’t killed. What an idiot.
Bill Garrison says
widdershins, miching mallecho, davening — GREAT !
Uma says
A risky but darring act, to achieve nothing, wasting, time and money.
Andrew Blackadder says
This Israeli journalist is a very disrespecting moron to do what he did and then video it for all to see but his Taxi Driver MUST have known that what HE was doing was illegal, so why did he do it, money perhaps, but even if he was paid a lot he must have known the trouble he would be in by doing so…
Two idiots in a Car, Dumb and Dumber.
BlackSabbath says
Actually it should be moslems who should be banned from entering Mecca. All that land belongs to Israel.
European pagan says
For no money of the world would I enter that sh*thole country Saudi Arabia