Jewish person visiting American friend in Qatar
I'm an American Jew, and my American college roommate is an expat who has been living in Qatar for the last few years. He is Catholic. I told him I want to visit him but he has repeatedly warned me that as a Jewish person this might be a risky move for me, due to his perception of Qatar's opinion of Jewish people.
- Is there any truth to what he is saying?
- If so, is there anything I can do to still ensure a safe trip?
Best Answer
Ask other Jewish people and don't trust random strangers that are not Jewish. You are playing with fire here, since there is a not-so-remote possibility you will be detained as an 'Israeli spy' in a dictatorship with no human rights culture.
Qatar funds Hamas and does not recognize Israel. If you have Israeli citizenship you could be in trouble, if you visited Israel or know Israeli people you could also land in trouble.
How would they know? That's a function of how Jewish is your name and how much work they (or their intelligence) will do on your name, looking it up on Facebook, checking it against leaked lists of Israeli citizens and so on.
I don't want to scare you so I'll say that the probability that something bad could happen to you is very low. But it is there. And if something happens you will be in a dictatorial country at the mercy of their government.
To minimize your chances of trouble I'd suggest you speak with people in the Jewish community who know people who went to Qatar or to other Arab countries and keep a very low profile there.
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Can you go to Qatar if you are Jewish?
No, there is virtually no risk to visiting Qatar as a Jew, nobody even needs to know you're one since US citizens can visit without a visa and your religion is never asked. You may draw some attention if dressed in full-on Hasidic clothing though.Are there Jewish people in Qatar?
Judaism is an officially recognized religion by the state of Qatar, though no data is available on the size of Qatar's Jewish non-citizen population.Is it safe for an American to travel to Qatar?
Despite its location in an often volatile area of the Middle East, it's generally a safe country with a low crime rate. This is due in part to a large police presence who aim to maintain security and prevent crime from happening.Can Israelis fly Qatar Airlines?
Since there are no diplomatic relations between Israel and Qatar, Qatar Airways doesn't fly to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport. However, Israelis who are departing from abroad and want to travel with Qatar Airlines with a stopover in Qatar are allowed to do so.Jewish Man Harassed In Pakistan!! (Social Experiment) *GOT ARRESTED*
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Answer 2
This might seem like an oddball answer, but I've done the following with a British colleague of mine that was Jewish when we were travelling into Saudi Arabia a few years back:
- I gave him my golden cross on a neck chain (I've been raised as a catholic)
- We met up before border control
- He put it over his polo shirt at border control
- He hid it under his polo shirt afterwards
- We both forgot to ask for / give it back when we left, so I'll have to fly into the UK or he'll have to fly into Germany to give it back.
;-)
So ask your American catholic colleagues if you can borrow theirs and give it back when you return! >:-)
P.S. Leave your tefillin back home... ;P
P.P.S. He has a non-jewish name so YMMV
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