No Gulf Between Us

There’s no kosher food, no Jewish community, no Chabad house, practically no cultural attractions or museums, and it isn’t even tourist friendly. So what exactly motivated Williamsburg resident Moshe Klein to make not one, but two trips to Saudi Arabia?

Klein initially began visiting off-the-beaten-path destinations as a hobby, but his travels eventually evolved into a business, and today the 28-year-old Satmar chassid lectures about Jewish history all over the world. Some of the more unique destinations he’s visited include Baghdad, Somalia, Tunisia, Cuba, and Ethiopia, and Klein enjoys documenting small Jewish communities, particularly vanishing historic sites.

Klein made his first trip to Saudi Arabia in 2019, making a short stop in the port city of Jeddah after spending some time in Dubai and Qatar. Saudi Arabia is the most parochial of the seven Persian Gulf countries — women have only been allowed to drive since 2017 and the requirement for restaurants to have separate entrances for men and women was dropped just two years ago. So while it isn’t the kind of destination that appears on most people’s bucket lists, when the opportunity presented itself again this past winter, that made it all the more tempting for Klein to pack his bags, stock up on kosher essentials, and head for Riyadh.

Fly the Friendly Skies

There are limited flights between New York and Saudi Arabia each week and Klein found that his trips on Saudia Airline were anything but routine. While he’s gotten kosher meals while flying Qatar Airways, no such option is available on Saudia. And although Emirates Airline and Kuwait Airways offer passengers alcoholic beverages, Saudia is a “dry” airline, with only soft drinks allowed on board. Saudia’s in-flight entertainment system includes the entire Koran and a few select Arabic films.