Channel 13 News reporter Gil Tamari published a report where he claims to have entered Mecca and photographed the holiest site of Islam despite that religion forbidding entry to the city to any who are not Muslims themselves. The article drew criticism from Jews and Muslims alike for ‘disdaing the religious laws of Islam’.
"This is terrible Israeli insolence," Saudi blogger Muhammad Saud wrote on his Twitter account. "What were you thinking? Have you gone mad? Shame on you! How dare you despise our holy city? Have you ever seen a Muslim try to deliver the priestly blessing in a synagogue?” (By Israeli Jewish custom, men descended from Aaron the High Priest bless the congregation with verses from Leviticus each morning after the Silent Prayer.)
He added: "My dear friends in Israel, your reporter entered the holy city of Mecca and now shamelessly publishes photographs of Islam’s holy sites. This is akin to me entering a synagogue and reading from your Torah. Shame and disgrace on Channel 13. You have been enormously rude and should be ashamed of the offense dealt to Islam.”
B’sheva journalist Ofra Lex wrote: "Respecting a religion begins with understanding it from close up. Without respecting a religion, you will come to trample it unabashedly. Gil, you have disappointed us.”
Journalist Yanki Farber added: "What is sad here is that for a rating, an Israeli channel disrespected another religion. They are proud of it, and even hope for a journalistic award of some kind."
Channel 13 News responded: "Foreign news editor Gil Tamari's visit to Mecca is an important journalistic achievement, not in any way intended to hurt Muslims' feelings. Of course if anyone feels hurt, we apologize for that. The journalistic practice, however, is based on getting everywhere and documenting things firsthand. That is our lifeblood, our dogma."
"These principles also guided us in this journalistic mission, which allowed many viewers an almost unmediated initial contact with this important place, and compliments the curiosity and excitement in Israel about the tightening relations with Saudi Arabia. The mission only contributes to the discourse from learning and knowing the beliefs of the other."