Little by little, tourists from Emirates, Bahrain arrive to Israel

It was an unusual sight Oct. 9 at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest place. A group of tourists from Bahrain, wearing long robes and keffiyehs, stood alongside Jewish worshippers, and some even prayed to Allah themselves. One of the tourists pulled out an Islamic prayer rug, spread it out on the ground and knelt for the traditional prayer. 

The worshippers, including several social media influencers, were part of one of the first groups of tourists to come to Israel. Fatima al-Harabi entered the women’s section at the Western Wall and inserted a note in between the ancient stones, as is customary. In an interview with a reporter from the public broadcasting corporation Kan she said that the site has great spiritual power and that in her note she asked for peace to arrive soon. 

Harabi came as part of a group brought by the Sharaka organization, which aims to strengthen ties between Israel and Gulf states. Another member of the group, Salman al-Aoudi, told Al-Monitor that he had met Israelis on his travels elsewhere and his visit to Israel proved what he knew — that the country and people are beautiful and there could be a good relationship with them. 

The tourists from Bahrain encountered at the places they visited many Israelis who were a bit surprised to see them, but they felt welcome. The locals asked to take photos with the Bahrainis, who wore their nation’s traditional garb. Aoudi said with a smile that an elderly woman had blown an air-kiss to him at the open-air Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. The tour organizers took the group all over the country, including the mandatory stop for any tourist who wishes to understand Israel, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center. In interviews and tweets, members of the group said that this was one of the most meaningful experiences of the trip to Israel.