'Saudi-Israeli man' says he wants MbS to allow him to visit his 'ancestral Najran homeland'
'Saudi-Israeli man' says he wants MbS to allow him to visit his 'ancestral Najran homeland'
David bin Yusuf Shukur has asked Mohammed bin Salman to allow him to enter Saudi Arabia to visit his birthplace Najran.
2 min read
David bin Yusuf Shukur reached out to MbS [Twitter]
A former adviser to late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has reached out to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to allow him to visit his "ancestral homeland" - Saudi Arabia.
David bin Yusuf Shukur, who also refers to himself as Guy Maayan, is an Israeli who says he was born in the southern Saudi province of Najran.
He posted a video to his Twitter account in an attempt to reach out to the de-facto Saudi ruler in Arabic to enter the kingdom.
"In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful," he said, using a Muslim prayer to start his video.
Shukur said he was born in the province of Najran in 1944 and was exiled from Saudi Arabia to Yemen in 1948.
"Before the year 1948 there were 260 Jews in Najran, Saudi Arabia, whilst now, there are only 15 Jews left," he said.
"I can only wish that I am given the chance to enter Saudi Arabia and visit Najran, where the Jews of Saudi Arabia were living," he said.
|
||
He said that Najran is where his grandfathers were buried.
"I would also like to visit and pray over the graves of my ancestors in Najran, may God rest their souls in peace," he said.
Read also: Saudi who dressed as devil faces five years jail
"If God wills, bin Salman, may God guide him, will open the roads to Najran and Saudi Arabia," Shukur added.
The was tweeted by Israel's state digital diplomacy team on their Arabic-language account, @IsraelArabic.
Late last month, Israel's interior ministry said Israeli citizens, both Muslims and Jews, have the right to travel to Saudi Arabia for religious and business visits.
But Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told CNN Israelis are not welcome at the moment in Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites.
"Our policy is constant. We don't have relations with Israel and holders of Israeli passports cannot visit the kingdom for now," he said, according to CNN's Arabic website.
Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, but is currently on the path of normalising relations with the country despite an official Arab League boycott of the country.
Israel has peace deals with only two Arab countries - Jordan and Egypt - but its occupation of Palestinian territory has long served as a major factor preventing similar accords with the rest of the Arab world.
More In News
