Israel boy scout shirts in Saudi Arabian store stir frenzy

The recent discovery of Israeli boy scout shirts in a commercial shop in the southern Saudi Arabian city of Jizan has sparked outrage, with some erroneously believing the garments to be Israeli “military uniforms.”

According to a report published by the Saudi news site Akbaar24 on Sunday, an unnamed Saudi citizen who had purchased an Israeli boy scout shirt made an official complaint to the Saudi Ministry of Commerce after realizing the shirt had Hebrew writing and an Israeli flag sewn on it.

The discovery of the Israeli shirt led some on Arabic social media to call for stricter regulations at clothing shops in Saudi Arabia.

The official spokesman of the Saudi Ministry of Commerce, Abdulrahman Al-Hussein, said the complaint about the Israeli clothing had been received by the ministry, and said the regulatory authorities “are called to complete the procedures and the imposition of systematic penalties.”

Some on social media expressed worry the shirt was actually Israeli military attire.

https://twitter.com/shokat237/status/950067748830416897

“Important: Israeli military clothing has invaded Saudi clothing shops,” wrote one Twitter user.

https://twitter.com/NoEqUqwhHZQpTSm/status/950091557281157120

“Israeli military clothing is being sold in Israel,” wrote another.

“There is military clothing belonging to the Israeli occupation army and clothing of the Israeli scouts for sale in one of the largest shops in the province of Jizan,” wrote a Saudi Twitter user.

ملابس عسكرية إسرائيلية في الأسواق السعودية, وجود ملابس عسكرية تتبع جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي وملابس للكشافة الإسرائيلية معروضة للبيع في أحد المحال الشهيرة الكبرى بمحافظة جازان

اختراق ليس بالبسيط

— Global Federation (@GlobalFed) January 7, 2018

The online confusion caught the attention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson Ofir Gendelman.

This Israeli scouts uniform was sold at a Saudi clothes store, for some reason, and caused a huge bruhaha b/c of our flag & Hebrew writings.

Some said it was an IDF uniform. Why didn't they just read the shoulder patch?

Israeli boy scout uniforms are apparently very dangerous! pic.twitter.com/stqZXiSZoY

— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) January 9, 2018

“This Israeli scouts uniform was sold at a Saudi clothes store, for some reason, and caused a huge bruhaha [sic] b/c of our flag & Hebrew writings,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Some said it was an IDF uniform. Why didn’t they just read the shoulder patch?” he asked, referring to the Arabic writing that identified said “scouts.”