An Israeli journalist sparked online outrage this week after entering Islam's holiest site Mecca despite a ban on non-Muslims, with officials decrying the move as harmful to budding Israel-Gulf ties.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Channel 13 News aired a 10-minute report from Saudi Arabia, Islam's birthplace, by journalist Gil Tamary on Monday, in which he was traveling in a car by the Grand Mosque in Mecca and climbing the Mount of Mercy, which oversees the plain of Arafat revered as the place where Prophet Mohammad held his last sermon 14 centuries ago.
Tamary, a veteran journalist and until recently the channel's correspondent in the United States, was in Jeddah covering US President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Accompanied by a person who appears to be a local guide and whose face is blurred to prevent his identification, Tamary lowers his voice while speaking to the camera in Hebrew, and at times switches to English to avoid revealing he is Israeli.
"I'm sorry [but] it was a stupid thing to do and take pride in," Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Freij (Meretz), who is Muslim, told public broadcaster Kan 11. "It was irresponsible and damaging to air this report just for the sake of ratings."
Freij said the report hurt US-encouraged efforts to gradually move Israel and Saudi Arabia toward more normal ties, similar to the 2020 diplomatic deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Riyadh does not recognize Israel, saying this would require addressing Palestinian statehood goals first.
The Twitter hashtag "A Jew in Mecca's Grand Mosque" trended after the report was aired.
"My dear friends in Israel, a journalist of yours entered the city of Mecca, holy to Islam, and filmed there shamelessly," Mohammed Saud, a pro-Israel Saudi activist said on Twitter. "Shame on you Channel 13, for hurting the religion of Islam like that. You are rude."
Saudi media, tightly controlled by the government, did not cover the story and officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It was unclear whether authorities had approved his Mecca journey, for which he later apologized, saying he had not intended to offend Muslims.
"If anyone takes offense to this video, I deeply apologize," he wrote in English on Twitter. "The purpose of this entire endeavor was to showcase the importance of Mecca and the beauty of the religion, and in doing so, foster more religious tolerance and inclusion," he added.
Channel 13 News issued a statement saying, "Foreign News editor Gil Tamary's visit to Mecca is an important journalistic achievement, not intended in any way to offend Muslims and if anyone has taken offense – we apologize. Journalistic curiosity is the lifeblood of the journalism profession. The journalistic creed is based on being everywhere and documenting events firsthand. These principles guided us in this journalistic mission and it allowed many viewers unmediated initial contact with this important place, which corresponds with the curiosity and excitement in Israel around the budding relations with Saudi Arabia.
"We believe that knowing and recognizing the importance of a prominent place firsthand only contributes to increasing religious tolerance and discourse out of a place of learning about and recognizing the beliefs of the other. "
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
