The Jewish Home | AUGUST 8, 2019
Women in Saudi Arabia Can Travel Alone
In a first, Saudi Arabian women will be allowed to travel outside of Saudi Arabia without a male guardian after King Salman scrapped the longtime decree. “A passport will be granted to any Saudi national who submits an application,” read government notices published in all of Saudi Arabia’s newspapers that highlighted that women no longer need a male chaperone when going abroad. Previously, women were required to present the written approval of their male guardian when applying for a passport. Women were also commonly denied passports of their own and were instead given a page in their male guardian’s document, ensuring that they could not leave the country without their male guardian. The decades-old policy was widely denounced around the world as being overly restrictive towards women and was a black eye for Saudi Arabia’s efforts to present a more modern face for the country. According to the Ministry of Information, the reform is part of the monarchy’s “efforts to promote women’s rights and empowerment, equal to men.” The new decree was announced last Friday and is part of a campaign by the kingdom to relax its restrictive laws regarding women that have received international censure. The long-rumored policy change was confirmed by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States Reema Bandar Al-Saud in a Facebook post. “These new regulations are history in the making. They call for the equal engagement of women and men in our society,” wrote Reema, who is Saudi Arabia’s first female ambassador. “These developments have been a long time coming.” It is not known when the new law will take effect.
Osama Bin Laden’s Son Dies
Hamsa Bin Laden, the son of infamous former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, has reportedly died. According to NBC, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that the younger Bin Laden died sometime over the previous two years. The report didn’t mention how Hamsa Bin Laden died and whether the United States had a role in his death. Hamsa bin Laden was a veteran al-Qaeda operative and was groomed by his father to succeed him as the head of the murderous terror group. Residing in Afghanistan’s mountainous Tora Bora region, he had appeared in al-Qaeda propaganda videos in the past. His last public announcement was released by al-Qaeda’s media arm in 2018, in which he threatened Saudi Arabia and called on Muslims all over the world to commit attacks against their secular leaders. In February, the State Department announced a prize of up to $1 million for anyone who could provide information about the younger Bin Laden’s whereabouts. Experts say that Hamsa’s death will likely damage al-Qaeda due to his prestigious lineage and the prominent position he held in the organization. “If it’s true that he is dead, then al-Qaeda has lost its future because Hamsa was the future of al-Qaeda,” former F.B.I. agent Ali Soufan told The New York Times. “He was being prepared to lead the organization, and it’s very obvious from his statements that his focus was to bring back his dad’s message.”
U.S. Sanctions Iran’s Foreign Minister President Donald Trump slapped Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif with sanctions last week as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate. The sanctions targeted property
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