Riyadh – Jews and foreigners with other religions are allowed to work in Saudi Arabia, a Labor Ministry source in Riyadh was quoted as saying in a Saudi newspaper on Tuesday.
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“It should be mentioned that the Saudi religious establishment is divided over the issue of foreign workers in the country, due to differing interpretations of a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad that states, ‘Remove the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula,” noted a report by MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute) on the issue.
The newspaper Al-Watan said that the Saudi labor ministry website that deals with foreign workers permits them to have various regions including: Zoroastrianism, Communism, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and no religion.
The article said “the labor authorities in the kingdom have permitted the import of people who practice Judaism for working on its soil” and that it is “a move that emphasizes openness to all monotheistic religions and to people from other cultures,” reported MEMRI.
The labor ministry source said that people of any religion can enter and work in the country as the ministry work application focuses on the worker’s nationality.
“We bar entry [into Saudi Arabia] only to those with Israeli citizenship. Other than that, we are open to most nationalities and religions,” said the source adding, “For example, if a worker is a citizen of Yemen but practices Judaism, the [Saudi] Embassy [in Yemen] would not object to issuing him a work visa for the kingdom.”
Saudi Shura Council Foreign Affairs Committee member Sadaqa bin Yahya Fadhel said, “We Muslims have no problem with the Jews…Our biggest problem, as an Arab and Islamic nation, is with the Zionist movement, and not with the Jews or Christians.”
“It is difficult for us, as a Saudi Arab kingdom, to ban ties with a particular religion. The ban must apply only to Israeli citizens, because Israel is linked to the Zionist movement, which is an imperialist colonialist movement that exploits the Jewish faith and is therefore unrelated to Judaism and is totally different from it,” said Fadhel, according to the report.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
Seems like someone is teaching them the Vayorl Moshe’s Shita
That Arab’s last comment sounds like it was lifted directly from the “Neturai Karta” website.
Eh every now and then the upper ups in SA will bring in Israelis as well, if the need a DR or diamond dealer
I happen to know an Israeli dealer who goes a few times a year…..he gets flown in on a private jet and doesn’t go through customs
How exciting! I’m packing my bags now.
really? maybe we should make a pesach program there – it is warm and sunny
The Neturei karta and satmar/rebbe agree with Fadhel. Maybe they all went to the same yeshiva.
I just booked my flight on AirAsia.
Great, Thank You Obama. You are really changing the world to the better.
Yep, its not satmer shita, its not veyoil Moshe, its the one and only truth, that zionism exploited judiasm, for their own benefit, but I’m glad that the work of ‘true torah jews’ reaches saudi arabia.
True torah jews, is not netura karta, they don’t side with arabs who kill or promote killing of jews, they only promote the real daas torah.
Right, try having a Minyan there and see what happens!
OK, they now allow Jews (supposedly), just not Israelis.
What about Tashmishei K’dushoh?
Will they allow wine for Kiddush? … How about liquor? … Kosher meat? … Are there Minyonim?
BTW, in March 2014, they denied a visa to Michael Wilner, a Jewish non-Israeli, Jerusalem Post journalist.
So … if you’re not a journalist for an Israeli publication, don’t Daven with Minyon, don’t observe Kashrus, don’t put on T’fillin and Tzitzis … you can go to KSA and become Ois Yid.
Tzeischem L’sholoim! … Please send regards to the Shmatte Kep there.
I don’t notice any comments by PaulinSaudi. Thought for sure he’d have something to say …
“…Zionist movement, which is an imperialist colonialist movement that exploits the Jewish faith and is therefore unrelated to Judaism and is totally different from it,”
Who is more imperialist, Israel, a democracy 3 times willing to give all the land back, or Saudi Arabia, who is always meddling in the foreign affairs of other countries?
How did Zionist exploit the Jewish faith if they are secular?
To #14 - I’m not sure if PaulinSaudi is even Jewish, as he has never responded to my inquiry, when I asked him, why (as a Jew), that he was working in Saudi Arabia? In any event, let us look at Saudi Arabia’s history of hostility towards Jews. When the USA had military bases in Saudi Arabia, (before the First Gulf War), it had a gentleman’s agreement with the Pentagon, not to have any American Jewish personnel stationed there. In 1966, an Air Force Sergeant who I was stationed with, stated that “(my name) is a (expletive deleted) Jew; therefore, he can’t be sent to Saudi Arabia”. During the First Gulf War, Saudi Arabia didn’t want American Jews to be sent there, but the Pentagon could not break units up. Hence, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines were pressured to “hide their Jewishness”. When the rulers of Saudi Arabia visited NYC in 1957 and 1966, one of them stated “All Jews are our enemies”. Hence, Mayors Wagner and Lindsay boycotted their arrivals at the airport. Incidentally, I’m curious to know why Saudi Arabia wants to know the identity of one’s religion, when one requests a visa to visit?
Proves ‘Paul’ is disingenuous!
Before you get too excited, remember that:
a) You can’t set foot in Mecca or Medica;
b) You can’t have alcohol;
c) You can’t bring in seforim, (not to mention those *other* kinds of books no one on VIN reads);
d) You can’t worship your religion publicly;
e) You can’t behave immodestly (according to their rules, something as simple as letting you wife drive, or go to store alone);
f) You’re basically living in a desert.
Feh. Who needs it?
So why isn’t Carter (y”sh) authoring Apartheid State books about the Arabs?