diff --git a/rubygem-mysql2.spec b/rubygem-mysql2.spec
index 3f9f7f0..90b93b1 100644
--- a/rubygem-mysql2.spec
+++ b/rubygem-mysql2.spec
@@ -31,8 +31,11 @@ BuildRequires: rubygem(rspec)
 # Used in mysql_install_db
 BuildRequires: %{_bindir}/hostname
 BuildRequires: rubygem(bigdecimal)
-# Used in spec/em/em_spec.rb
+%if !0%{?rhel}
+# Used in spec/em/em_spec.rb as optional dependency.
+# If rubygem-eventmachine is not present, the tests in the file are skipped.
 BuildRequires: rubygem(eventmachine)
+%endif
 # Used in spec/ssl/gen_certs.sh
 BuildRequires: %{_bindir}/openssl
 %endif
@@ -193,6 +196,7 @@ kill "$(cat "${MYSQL_TEST_PID_FILE}")"
 %changelog
 * Fri Feb 09 2024 Yaakov Selkowitz <yselkowi@redhat.com> - 0.5.5-4
 - Adapt tests to mariadb 10.11
+- Avoid rubygem-eventmachine build dependency in RHEL
 
 * Fri Jan 26 2024 Fedora Release Engineering <releng@fedoraproject.org> - 0.5.5-3
 - Rebuilt for https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedora_40_Mass_Rebuild