Shlomo Karhi, communication minister, joined the jews prayer service in Saudi Arabia. The minister is in Saudi Arabia with his delegation for the Universal Postal Union’s 2023 conference.
Prayer was held using the torch scroll dedicated to the ruler of the Saudi kingdom as isreal is stepping forward toward establishing normal relations with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
The holy prayer of Jews in Riyadh includes a Quorum or minyan, that is, a group of at least ten men and takes place in the hotel where the minister karahi is staying.
This prayer service includes three Jews who were already in Riyadh but were not part of the Karhi’s delegation.
Pictures of prayer were released by the karhi’s office that showcased the participants wearing traditional prayer shawls and holding an etrog alongside palm, myrtle and willow branches, part of a special rite for the Sukkot holiday.
A small Torah scroll was also provided by local Jews for prayer; the scroll was wrapped in a felt cover and stitched in English, Hebrew and Arabic, reading” The Jewish congregation, kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The scroll also included a dedication in Hebrew to “King Salman bin Abdulaziz Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and all their ministries and advisors.”
The minister, accompanied by the Knesset Economy Committee chairman David Bitan, made his trip to Saudi Arabia less than a week after his Likud colleague Haim Katz became the First Israeli minister to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The visit of Saudi Arabia’s communication minister is seen as a step further as Israel and Saudi Arabia are coming closer to each other for normal mutual relations.
The USA-backed deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, if finalised, then it would be a historic breakthrough for Middle East geopolitics.
Karhi and Bitan’s delegation has a total of 14 members. It includes a representative of the communication ministry ,The postal service representative and the Foreign Ministry representative , according to Karhi’s office.
Saudi Arabia has no official local Jewish community, although the kingdom is thought to host a large number of Jewish businessmen.
According to Bitan, a members of the delegation, “everything starts with small steps, so this a beginning ,and we’ll see in future how things develop which will beneficial for both, i.e. state of Israel and Saudi Arabia including the whole middle east”
Delegation from Israel have members all from Benjamin Netanyahu led the Likud party. Prominent members of the delegation include the Karhi,bitan and, Katz, etc.
Just one month ago nine-member delegation from Israel visited Saudi Arabia as an observer for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting.
At that time, the delegation was led by the head of Israel’s Antiquities Authority and included diplomats, according to an Israel official.
At the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Israeli prime minister said Israel was” on the cusp” of a historic deal with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the de-facto ruler of the kingdom, told Fox News that “every day Israel and Saudi Arabia get closer” while clarifying that the Palestine issue is still a “very important component” of the process and declaring that Saudi Arabi will have to obtain the nuclear weapons if Iran does.