It is no secret that Israelis have been barred from entering Qatar, however in the recent years we are seeing warming relations between the two countries grow rapidly.
Qatar’s Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary-general of the Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022, stated in an interview with ESPN that Israelis will be welcome to attend the soccer event in their country.
“Everyone is welcome,” he told ESPN. “We do not mix sport and politics, but we would hope that Palestinians are able to make it too.”
On top of that, Qatar will even offer its Jewish guests Kosher food and a place to pray.
Rabbi and president of The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, Marc Schneier, from the Orthodox Hampton Synagogue in Long Island, New York, has been asked by Hassan Al-Thawadi, secretary general of Qatar World Cup organising committee, to help plan the event, organize kosher food and a synagogue.
According to Ynet, Rabbi Schneier described the invitation as “an exceptional development that attests to the sensitivity that the Qataris show toward Israelis and the Jewish world”. He said the Qataris had sought his advice with concern for the needs of Jewish fans in everything related to kosher food. “I responded to the request with joy. The fact that our conversation took place on this subject is already amazing,” Rabbi Schneier said.
At Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup event, everyone is welcome.
Concerns were also voiced by the LGBT community as homosexuality is Illegal in Qatar.
Josh Cavallo, the world’s only current openly gay top-flight professional footballer, expressed safety concerns on his participation in FIFA World Cup this year in Qatar.
Nasser Al Khater, the tournament organiser, said that “Qatar is like any other society in the world and assured that ‘nobody feels threatened here.”
Speaking to CNN, Al Khater said, “We welcome him here in the state of Qatar, we welcome him to come and see, even prior to the World Cup. Nobody feels threatened here, nobody feels unsafe here.”
Qatar 2022 is making sure to accept people from all backgrounds, no matter where they are from, their religion or sexuality.
