History of the Jews in Saudi Arabia

Map of the area of modern-day Saudi Arabia

The history of the Jews in Saudi Arabia dates back to before biblical times. Today, Jewish worship is banned in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .

Persons with an Israeli government stamp on their passport or persons who are openly Jewish will not be admitted into the kingdom. In the 1970s, foreigners wishing to work in the kingdom were required to sign a written declaration stating that they were not Jewish .

Early history

According to some reports, Jews first appeared in the area of what is now Saudi Arabia during the First Temple period . Serious immigration to the Arabian Peninsula began in the 2nd century AD. In the 6th and 7th centuries there was a larger Jewish population in Hejaz .

Region of Hejaz (Red)

The tribes of Medina

There were three main tribes of Jews in Medina before the rise of Islam: Banu Nadir , Banu Qainuqa, and Banu Qurayza .

The Journey of Benjamin of Tudela

Map of the route

Rabbi Benjamin von Tudela went on a journey from 1165 to 1173 to visit remote Jewish communities. He also reached what is now Saudi Arabia. The map of his route shows that he found Jews in Tayma and Chaibar . (In 629 the Khaibar campaign took place between Mohammed and the city's Jewish community.) Tuda's journey began as a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His reasons for the trip are controversial.

Modern times

Today there is practically no Jewish presence in Saudi Arabia. Population censuses do not mention Jews.

In December 2014, The Jerusalem Post published a report in the Saudi daily Al-Watan that the Saudi Ministry of Labor had issued work permits to members of various religions, including Jews, in Saudi Arabia. Israeli citizens do not receive an entry permit, but Jewish citizens of other countries do.

In practice, Christian and Jewish services are only allowed in private homes, but Christians and Jews in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to invite Muslims.

literature

Kamal Salibi : The Bible Came from Arabia. Jonathan Cape, London 1985
Norman Stillman: Jews of Arab Lands. Jewish Publications Society, 1979.
New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, 1992, Encyclopedia Publishing, "Aden", "Arabia", "Hadramaut"

Individual evidence

↑ Saudi Arabia in the 1970s - part 1 - ARAMCO, Riyadh - visitor's impressions . May 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
↑ PDF: The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela trans. Nathan Marcus Adler. 1907: Including map (p. 2) and commentary. (PDF; 9.6 MB) teachittome.com. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
↑ Shatzmiller, Joseph: "Jews, Pilgrimage, and the Christian Cult of Saints: Benjamin of Tudela and His Contemporaries." After Rome's Fall: Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History , p. 338 . University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1998,.
↑ Saudi Arabia says open to Jewish workers

[1] Saudi Arabia in the 1970s - part 1 - ARAMCO, Riyadh - visitor's impressions . May 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2011.

[2] PDF: The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela trans. Nathan Marcus Adler. 1907: Including map (p. 2) and commentary. (PDF; 9.6 MB) teachittome.com. Retrieved September 21, 2013.

[3] Shatzmiller, Joseph: "Jews, Pilgrimage, and the Christian Cult of Saints: Benjamin of Tudela and His Contemporaries." After Rome's Fall: Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History , p. 338 . University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1998,.

[4] Saudi Arabia says open to Jewish workers