diff --git a/lib/email/receiver.rb b/lib/email/receiver.rb
index c580b5ce1bf..02e0004c5ce 100644
--- a/lib/email/receiver.rb
+++ b/lib/email/receiver.rb
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ module Email
       return Email::Receiver.results[:unprocessable] if @body.blank?
 
       # Then run the github EmailReplyParser on it in case we didn't catch it
-      @body = EmailReplyParser.read(@body).visible_text
+      @body = EmailReplyParser.read(@body).visible_text.force_encoding('UTF-8')
 
       discourse_email_parser
 
diff --git a/spec/components/email/receiver_spec.rb b/spec/components/email/receiver_spec.rb
index d999b773fef..8c382f954bf 100644
--- a/spec/components/email/receiver_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/components/email/receiver_spec.rb
@@ -50,6 +50,17 @@ stripped from my reply?")
     end
   end
 
+  describe "It supports a non english reply" do
+    let(:hebrew) { File.read("#{Rails.root}/spec/fixtures/emails/hebrew.eml") }
+    let(:receiver) { Email::Receiver.new(hebrew) }
+
+    it "processes correctly" do
+      I18n.expects(:t).with('user_notifications.previous_discussion').returns('כלטוב')
+      receiver.process
+      expect(receiver.body).to eq("שלום")
+    end
+  end
+
   describe "via" do
     let(:wrote) { File.read("#{Rails.root}/spec/fixtures/emails/via_line.eml") }
     let(:receiver) { Email::Receiver.new(wrote) }
diff --git a/spec/fixtures/emails/hebrew.eml b/spec/fixtures/emails/hebrew.eml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e21ba739d12
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/fixtures/emails/hebrew.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+
+Delivered-To: discourse-reply+cd480e301683c9902891f15968bf07a5@discourse.org
+Received: by 10.194.216.104 with SMTP id op8csp80593wjc;
+        Wed, 24 Jul 2013 07:59:14 -0700 (PDT)
+Return-Path: <walter.white@googlemail.com>
+References: <topic/5043@discourse.org> <51efeb9b36c34_66dc2dfce6811866@discourse.mail>
+From: Walter White <walter.white@googlemail.com>
+In-Reply-To: <51efeb9b36c34_66dc2dfce6811866@discourse.mail>
+Mime-Version: 1.0 (1.0)
+Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 15:59:10 +0100
+Message-ID: <4597127794206131679@unknownmsgid>
+Subject: Re: [Discourse] new reply to your post in 'Crystal Blue'
+To: walter via Discourse <discourse-reply+cd480e301683c9902891f15968bf07a5@discourse.org>
+Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
+Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
+
+16nXnNeV150=
\ No newline at end of file