An Israeli journalist has caused outrage online after entering Mecca illegally to film a documentary
An Israeli journalist breached the ban on non-Muslim access to Islam’s holiest site in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, triggering an online backlash.
The report triggered outrage on social media where users tweeted their reactions using the hashtag “Jew_in_the_Haram” (a reference to the Great Mosque “Masjid al-Haram”).
Israel’s Channel 13 aired a report featuring its world news editor Gil Tamari driving around the holy city and pointing out significant sights and landmarks.
Tamari drove past the arched Mecca Gate, which marks the entrance to the city and the point at which non-Muslims are prohibited from entering, and the Grand Mosque, the most important site in Islam.
In his approximately 10-minute clip, shared on Twitter, Tamary visits Mount Arafat, where Muslim pilgrims gather to pray during the climax of the Haj pilgrimage each year.
A day after the report aired, both Channel 13 and Tamary issued statements and apologized if they had offended Muslims but stood by the decision to air it, deeming it a significant journalistic accomplishment.
“The visit of our world news editor Gil Tamari to Mecca is an important journalistic accomplishment, which was not meant to offend Muslims,” it said in a statement.
“We apologise if anyone was offended. To clarify: journalistic curiosity is the very soul of the journalist profession. The principles of journalism are rooted in reaching any location and documenting events firsthand.”