Hebrew in Saudi Arabia

The sight of handbags with Hebrew writing for sale in Saudi Arabia took Palestinians on a visit there by surprise. It is unclear how the bags reached their destination.

Palestinians visiting Saudi Arabia as part of a holy pilgrimage to Mecca were surprised to see handbags with Hebrew lettering for sale in the city of Medina, Islam’s second-holiest city, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“Do you know that these cases have Hebrew writings,” one traveler asked the Bangladeshi merchant selling the items.

“I do not know. We got the goods from the city of Jeddah,” he replied.

How the handbags made their way to Saudi Arabia remains unclear.

In an unrelated incident, in February 2014, a picnicker near Saudi Arabia’s northern town of Rafha noticed several Israeli balloons with Hebrew writings floating nearby, The Algemeiner reported at the time.

“The balloons carried writings in Hebrew… they are believed to have been unleashed during a festival in Israel and found their way into Saudi Arabia,” he said.

The Hebrew message on the balloon was wishing a pleasant release to an IDF soldier completing his military service.

In a historical first, Israel and Saudi Arabia publicly admitted to secret diplomatic relations in June, hoping to cooperate on the Iranian regional threat and on resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.

By: United with Israel Staff
(With files from The Jerusalem Post and The Algemeiner)

Source: United with Israel