Gil Tamary, an Israeli journalist, sparked controversy earlier this week.

A video was posted on social networks showing him walking in Mecca (Saudi Arabia), the first holy place of Islam and a city forbidden to non-Muslims.

In the 10-minute video, the man is seen going to Mount Arafat, the sacred stage of the pilgrimage to Mecca.

These images provoked an avalanche of hostile reactions.

The journalist, who works for the Israeli channel Channel 13, apologized on Tuesday for the offenses he may have caused.

Israeli journalist Gil Tamari, who works for the Israeli channel Channel 13 News, managed to break into Makkah to film a documentary there.



The city is theoretically forbidden to non-Muslims.

pic.twitter.com/Zfn2JPc1CV

— Middle East Eye Fr (@MiddleEastEyeFr) July 20, 2022


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Showing “the beauty of Islam”

In the video, Gil Tamary explains himself that what he is doing is prohibited.

“I am the first Israeli journalist here to make a video and in Hebrew,” he says at one point.

Afterwards, the journalist explained that his aim was to show “the importance of Mecca and the beauty of Islam” as well as a “place that is so important for our Muslim brothers and sisters”.

His explanations did not calm the anger of the media and Internet users.

A “Jew in the Holy Mosque” hashtag even emerged on Twitter, with users calling on Saudi authorities to “not insult the Muslim nation.”

“A shame for journalism”

Saudi Arabia never joined the Abraham Accords, negotiated by the United States in 2020, which allowed Israel to normalize its relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Several Israeli journalists holding foreign passports were able to travel to the country before and during Joe Biden's visit to the region in mid-July.

Gil Tamary's video was also deemed "shameful" by Twitter accounts encouraging diplomatic normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“There are things that need to be said,” commented Yoav Limor, another Israeli journalist who recently visited the country.

“What Gil Tamary did is a disgrace to journalism.

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