Prayer scene is from the Jordanian parliament, not Israel
Following the record-breaking 19 seats won by two Arab-led alliances in Israel’s elections, A video was circulated on Facebook claiming that Muslims are praying in the Israeli parliament. However, a fact-check by Dismislab reveals that the video is a scene from the Jordanian parliament. Multiple news reports state that the scene depicts a group of lawmakers offering afternoon prayers in the parliament chamber in Amman, Jordan, on November 3.
On November 4, a video was posted from a Facebook profile with the caption, “The sound of prayers was heard in the Israeli parliament! Muslim MPs have offered prayers together in the main session chamber of the Israeli parliament (Knesset). This scene has now become a topic of massive discussion on social media.” In the 22-second video, multiple individuals are seen praying in a circular chamber. Up until the writing of this report, the video has been shared more than 1,700 times and viewed more than 157,000 times. The video was also shared with the same claim from multiple (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) personal Facebook profiles.
To verify the authenticity, a reverse image search was conducted using the keyframes of the video. A video on the YouTube channel of the media outlet BBC News Arabic was found. Translating the headline of the video yields, “Offering prayers under the dome of the Jordanian parliament has created mixed reactions.”
Translating the text in the detailed description of the video yields, “Just before the session regarding the election of the standing committee, several Jordanian members of parliament offered Zohr (afternoon) prayers under the dome of the parliament. This incident has sparked widespread discussion; while supporters have welcomed it as religious conduct, critics have questioned the reason for offering prayers under the dome.”
Translating a report published by the Saudi Arabia-based media outlet Al Marsad shows, “A video clip showed multiple members of the Jordanian House of Representatives offering Zohr prayers in congregation under the dome of the parliament hall right before the start of the session for electing the council’s standing committee. The video shows the members of parliament praying in congregation and MP Ahmed Al-Raqab leading them as Imam. Jordanian MP Dima Tahboub explained that due to the regulations of the inaugural phase, the doors of the hall were closed, hence this prayer was organized before the session began.”
Additionally, multiple (1, 2, 3) international fact-checking organizations have debunked the same claim and referred to the video as a scene from the Jordanian parliament.
That is to say, the prayer scene is not from Israel, but from the Jordanian parliament.
Previously as well, Dismislab has published multiple fact-check reports regarding Israel-related claims.
