"No We Can't" - Saudi Labor Ministry Denies Permitting Jews To Work In The Kingdom.

"No We Can't" - Saudi Labor Ministry Denies Permitting Jews To Work In The Kingdom. (Memri).

On December 30, 2014, MEMRI reported on an article in the official Saudi daily Al-Watan that claimed that the Saudi authorities permitted people of all faiths, including Jews, to work in Saudi Arabia.

The Al-Watan report was based on a form that appeared on the website of the Saudi Labor Ministry, which listed the permissible options for foreign workers' religions, including Zoroastrianism, Communism, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and no religion.

The Al-Watan report sparked an uproar in the kingdom, especially on social media, and many people posted tweets with the hashtag "Permitting the Import Of Jewish Workers" in which they protested the decision or made sarcastic remarks about it. The Saudi online magazine 'Ajel even reviewed articles in Israeli papers on the decision, and also mentioned that MEMRI had translated the Al-Watan report into English.[1]  

In light of the public outcry, the authorities hurried to deny the Al-Watan report.

The Labor Ministry amended the form on its website, removing the word "Jewish," and clarified that its inclusion in the form had been a meaningless technicality and should not be interpreted to mean that employing Jews was allowed.

The Al-Watan daily, for its part, accused the Labor Ministry of trying to deceive the public by its denial, and claimed to have a recording in which a senior ministry official confirmed its claims on the matter. The daily also published an opinion piece by its columnist Musa'ad Al-'Osaimi in which he condemned the calls against the employment of non-Muslims, and especially of Jews, in the kingdom.

Saudi Labor Ministry: The Inclusion Of The Word 'Jewish' In The Ministry's Computerized System Does Not Mean That It Is Permissible To Bring Jews Into The Kingdom.

As mentioned, the public outrage over the Al-Watan report forced the Labor Ministry to issue a clarification on the very same day (December 30). The ministry explained that the source of the mistake was the ministry's automated computer system, and that "the inclusion of this option does not necessarily mean that [applicants] would or would not be granted permission to import employees who are members of the Jewish faith." 

It clarified further that "this was the standard format of the 'religion' field in the electronic form for [tender] applicants on the website," and that the intention was "to include every option for indicating the [employee's] status," but that the actual procedure of bringing in workers was "subject to several systematic regulations which the ministry follows [in determining] which countries are permissible sources [of labor]..." Labor Minister 'Adel Faqih made similar remarks to the daily Al-Watan.[2] 
Read the full story here.