A delegation from a US commission on religious freedom announced on Monday that it had decided to shorten an official visit to Saudi Arabia after one of its members was asked to remove his kippa.
Abraham Cooper © The Forward
A delegation from a US commission on religious freedom announced on Monday that it had decided to shorten an official visit to Saudi Arabia after one of its members was asked to remove his kippa.
"No one should be denied access to a heritage site, especially one designed to showcase unity and progress, simply because they exist as a Jew," said the president of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Abraham Cooper, who is also an Orthodox Jew, as cited in a statement.
"Saudi Arabia is promoting change as part of its Vision 2030," referring to an ambitious reform program aimed at diversifying the economy. "However, especially at a time when anti-Semitism is rampant, being asked to remove my kippa prevented us, members of the USCIRF, from continuing our visit to the Diriyah site," a UNESCO World Heritage site located northwest of Riyadh, according to the statement.
"We note, with particular regret, that this happened to a representative of a US government agency promoting religious freedom," he added.
This commission on religious freedom is a government advisory body mandated by the US Congress.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, called Iran's newly elected President Massoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday to congratulate him on his recent election victory, according to Saudi state media reports.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Oman, the group said on Tuesday, which left at least nine people dead, including three attackers, a rare security breach in the oil-producing Gulf state.
Two armed drones on Tuesday targeted Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase, which hosts U.S forces and other international forces in western Iraq, two Iraqi military sources told Reuters.
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