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Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Israeli minister says Israeli TV report from Mecca was ‘stupid’ and damaging
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Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej arrives at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, June 14, 2021 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej decries an Israeli TV report from a Jewish Israeli journalist visiting Mecca as “stupid.”
A report aired on Channel 13 news on Monday of journalist Gil Tamari visiting the holy Saudi city of Mecca — which is forbidden for non-Muslims. Tamary and the network later apologized for the report.
“I think it was stupidity, stupidity, and totally out of place just for ratings,” Frej, who is the second Muslim minister in Israeli history, tells Kan public radio. Frej says that it would only cause damage to the possibility of Saudi-Israel normalization.
“This is a holy place for Muslims… what was the point? You want a report from there, send a Muslim journalist!… the damages from this will be high.”
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