When I visited Saudi Arabia in December of 2018, I was one of the first 1,000 tourists to visit the kingdom in modern history. In an effort to test the waters of tourism in the slowly evolving country, the Saudi government was allowing visitors in for a period of 30 days, after which its borders would be closed again. The three-part article I wrote for Ami was appropriately entitled “A Land Off Limits,” and was wildly popular among readers the world over. A few months later, I discovered Mohammed Saud on Twitter. Mohammed is a 29-year-old Saudi law student who got to know some Jewish people while studying in the United States. Intrigued, he started to learn more about the Jews and their religion, and eventually fell in love with Israel. This led him to teaching himself Hebrew and listening to Israeli music. Before long, he had a very good command of the language, and he started posting videos in support of Israel in general and Prime Minister Netanyahu in particular.
Bibi took notice of this unusual supporter, and even showed one of his videos at a Likud press conference. Last year, when I wrote my article, “Friends in Unlikely Places,” it was the first print interview Mohammed had ever done. He was a relative unknown, and it caused a sensation. Since then, he has been featured on Israeli radio and television, and has become a celebrity on social media.
Over the past year Mohammed and I developed a close relationship, and he invited me to visit him in Saudi Arabia more times than I can count. I also invited him to visit me in Israel, but when he finally made it to the Holy Land I happened to be abroad, so we couldn’t meet. During his visit to Israel, Mohammed was attacked by Palestinians on the Har Habayit, after which he disappeared from social media for several weeks. He eventually returned, following a lengthy period of silence, but even then he kept a low profile.
In recent months, aside from his constant tweeting about Israel and its politics, he started to reach out to the American Jewish community and sent messages of condolence and support in both English and Yiddish after the stabbing in Monsey on Chanukah. Many people told me that they were heartened by Mohammed’s gesture.
In late September of 2019, Saudi Arabia decided to finally open its doors to tourists on a long-term basis. I really wanted to visit Mohammed, but I had some concerns. It seems that after my last visit to Saudi Arabia, some defamatory articles that had been written about me had gone viral in the Arab media. The narrative being told was that I was an Israeli citizen (untrue), who had somehow managed to sneak into Saudi Arabia. There were also rumors that I was a Zionist agent, and I was called every name in the book. I was therefore unsure if the Saudi government would even allow me back in.
One night, my curiosity got the better of me and I visited the Saudi tourist website to apply for a visa. After I had finished filling out the form, a message popped up on my computer informing me that visas are usually approved within 30 minutes. Less than 60 seconds later I got an email from the Saudi Tourism Authority. I held my breath as I waited for it to load. But it was neither an approval nor a rejection, just a message asking me to take a survey about my user experience on the website. I continued to hold my breath, and six minutes later I received confirmation that my visa had been approved. Apparently, I was still welcome. Now that I had my visa, I was ready to plan my trip. Being that I was very pressed for time, my visit to the Saudi Kingdom would last for only 24 hours. I scheduled several back-to-back meetings and booked my tickets.
It was late at night when my plane landed in Riyadh, and I could immediately detect the changes that had taken place since my last visit only a year before. For starters, when my baggage was put through the X-ray scanner, no one batted an eyelash at the sight of my tefillin, whereas last time I’d been held up in the airport while the customs officials figured out what to do with me.
My Uber driver picked me up outside the arrivals terminal and drove me approximately 40 minutes to my hotel. Due to construction on the road, he had to drop me off in a nearby parking lot, so I had no choice but to schlep all my stuff myself. Like last time, the hotel was gorgeous, and I was awakened before dawn by a super-loud call to prayer issuing from a nearby minaret. I decided to stay up even though I hadn’t gotten much sleep, and used the opportunity to daven Shacharis in the privacy of my room. Then I ate breakfast, learned Daf Yomi and packed up my things before checking out of the hotel. The clerk behind the check-in counter couldn’t help but smile at my outfit for the day, which I haven’t told you about yet. I was wearing my long chasidic suit jacket, with my yarmulke and long, curly peyos concealed under a traditional keffiyeh. I didn’t feel comfortable walking around looking openly Jewish, but I thought that if I kept my head covered like that, I probably wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows. I must have looked ridiculous, but I wanted to be dressed in my traditional Jewish garb later in the day and there wouldn’t be enough time for me to change, so my reckel and keffiyeh would have to suffice. The Uber driver who picked me up from the hotel told me he assumed I was a Saudi businessman before I informed him that I was an American tourist.
To read more, subscribe to Ami
The post A Heart to Heart With Mohammed Saud appeared first on Ami Magazine.
Recent Comments