The Saudi ambassador to the US, Reema Bandar Al Saud. Image by Getty

By Ari Feldman October 2, 2019

In an apparent first, the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. sent High Holiday greetings to American Jews.

The card, from Reema Bandar al Saud, the ambassador, (also known as Reema bint Bandar) was first reported by the Josh Lederman of NBC News. It’s not clear what format the card was sent out in, or who else received it, the Times of Israel noted.

This is a first: The Saudi Embassy in Washington, under new Ambassador Reema bint Bandar, sent out Rosh Hashana greetings to American Jews pic.twitter.com/HAKuwSYYFL

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) October 1, 2019

Bandar was appointed envoy to the United States in February, and is Saudi Arabia’s first female envoy. Her father, Bandar bin Sultan al Saud, was ambassador to the U.S. for nearly 20 years.

News about the card came a few days after a Saudi blogger posted a video of himself to Twitter singing a Jewish prayer and dedicating it to the Jewish people ahead of the High Holidays.

אחינו האשכנזים מיוחד בשבילכם, ראש השנה מגיע יום הדין. pic.twitter.com/b5pwstznx7

— محمد سعود Mohammed Saud מוחמד סעוד (@mohsaud08) September 27, 2019

The Saudi leader, Mohamed bin Salman, has developed a close relationship with Jared Kushner, the Jewish son-in-law of and adviser to Donald Trump. Saudi Arabia has also reportedly forged close ties with the Israeli government in recent years, despite reports that Saudi textbooks are still filled with anti-Semitic misinformation about Jews and Israel.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount