An Israeli blogger’s photograph from inside one of Islam’s holiest sites set off a firestorm in the Middle East

Ben Tzion, an Israeli blogger, went into the Prophet's Mosque in Medina carrying a bag with Jewish prayer scrolls
Ben Tzion, an Israeli blogger, went into the Prophet's Mosque in Medina carrying a bag with Jewish prayer scrolls

At first glance the photograph seems unremarkable. A bearded man in traditional Arab garb stands in the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, the second holiest site in Islam, and smiles broadly at the camera. 

But clutched under his arm is something unusual: a small satchel adorned with Hebrew writing. Inside the bag are tefillin, small boxes of Torah scrolls which observant Jews wrap around their arms and heads during prayers.     

The man in the photograph is Ben Tzion, a 31-year-old Israeli blogger, and his pictures from inside the Saudi mosque where the Prophet Mohammed is buried have set off a firestorm on social media in the Arab world. 

Under the hashtag صهيوني_بالحرم_النبوي# - “Zionist in the Prophet’s Mosque” -  thousands across the Middle East have posted about the photographs and sent the term trending in Saudi Arabia. Mr Tzion’s Instagram account was suspended apparently because of the rush of incoming traffic. News organisations around the Middle East have reported widely on the story. 

Many, and probably most, of the posts are negative, reflecting the anger and hatred felt towards Israel in much of the Arab world. Some people translated their Instagram comments into Hebrew so they could be sure Mr Tzion could read them. “How can they even be okay with having this Zionist in a holy place? I’m just utterly disgusted and shocked,” wrote one Twitter user. 

But Mr Tzion, who works in real estate and blogs for the Times of Israel, said that amid the vitriol he has received many positive messages. 

“Some of them are very nice and kind, from both women and men, I’ve got feedback from Syria, from Egypt, from Iraq, from Saudi,” he told The Telegraph. “Some people were very friendly and some people were not and were cursing. But I was not trying to create a scene and I was very surprised to see it all happening.”

Mr Tzion was born in Russia and studied in the US and has no fear of venturing into countries where few other Israelis would dare. Saudi Arabia, Iran and Lebanon all refuse to admit Israeli citizens but Mr Tzion has been to all three by juggling between his Russian and American passports. 

But he doesn’t sneak into these countries: he says during his visits he is open about being both a Jew and an Israeli. As well as carrying the teffilin bag with his name in Hebrew, Mr Tzion walked around in Saudi Arabia with a headscarf emblazoned with the star of David. 

Ben Tzion wore a headscarf with the Star of David on it during his trip in Saudi Arabia
Ben Tzion wore a headscarf with the Star of David on it during his trip in Saudi Arabia

And the response he received, he says, was entirely welcoming.

“When I was in Saudi, people would stop me and ask me where I’m from and I would say Jerusalem, Israel. And they would say: ‘Wow, that’s unbelievable. A Jew in Saudi walking among us freely. The next thing they say is welcome, can we help you, can we show you something, can we take you somewhere?”

He said the trip cemented his belief that a younger generation of Arabs and Israelis, united by social media and unburdened by historic memories, would be able to make peace. He pointed to the example of Saudi Arabia’s millennial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is only a year older than him, as the kind of Arab leader who seemed interested in making progress.

“I sincerely believe that my generation is the one that will break the ice and move forward together, face each other and shake hands and try to find common ground and dialogue,” he said.  

Mr Tzion said his visit to Saudi Arabia last week was to see friends from university and that he has never worked for the Israeli government nor been a part of any unofficial diplomacy. He laughs off the much-repeated suggestion on Twitter that he is an agent of the Mossad, Israel’s spy agency.  

Ben Tzion in the Prophet's Mosque in Saudi Arabia
Ben Tzion in the Prophet's Mosque in Saudi Arabia

But his trip to Riyadh, Medina and Jeddah happened to coincide with an interesting moment in Israeli-Saudi relations. The two countries have no diplomatic ties or public relationship but have long been thought to be cooperating in secret against their shared enemy Iran. 

While Mr Tzion was taking selfies, Israel’s top military commander gave an unprecedented interview to a Saudi-owned news site offering to work with Riyadh against the Iranians. Days later an Israeli minister confirmed that there were contacts between the two sides but said that the Saudis requested it remain a secret. 

The photographs of an Israeli in the Prophet’s Mosque were seized on as proof that Saudi Arabia is normalising relations with Israel. The pictures were especially widely circulated in Qatar, which is under a Saudi blockade that prevents Qataris from entering the kingdom. 

“Our Qatari brothers are forbidden to visit the Prophet's Mosque while the Zionists roam freely and take pictures inside!” posted one Saudi Twitter user. 

Israeli officials watched the fallout from the trip with interest but not all were thrilled with Mr Tzion’s holiday or how it had become an international news story. “It’s a risky thing to do on a personal level,” said one official. “And if it’s perceived as ‘Israelis are taking over the mosque’ I’m not sure it’s helpful for nurturing relations.”

While non-Muslims are completely banned from Mecca, the rules around Medina, Islam’s second city, are more complicated. Mr Tzion said there is no prohibition on non-Muslims inside the Prophet’s Mosque but that out of respect he stayed away from the area of Mohammed’s tomb. 

Mr Tzion, who speaks with relentless optimism about the potential for peace, said he would keep up his visits with Palestinians and other people across the Middle East and his search for common ground.

“Arabs and Jews have to live together,” he said. “We share land, we share food, we share culture and history together. Yes, not all the pages of our history are friendly and nice but it’s time to flip the page and move forward together as friends and partners and family members like we always used to be.” 

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