A diplomatic trip to Saudi Arabia by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was cut short on Monday after a Saudi official asked a Jewish member of the group to remove his kippah. The incident occurred during a visit to the Diriyah UNESCO World Heritage Site in Riyadh.
Chair Abraham Cooper released a statement saying, “No one should be denied access to a heritage site…simply for existing as a Jew.” He continued, “Saudi Arabia is in the midst of encouraging change under its 2030 Vision. However, especially in a time of raging antisemitism, being asked to remove my kippah made it impossible for us from USCIRF to continue our visit.”
The incident comes at a time of deteriorating relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel over the Israel-Hamas war. USCIRF has designated Saudi Arabia a “country of particular concern” for “systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations” every year since 2000. The group’s 2023 annual report notes that Saudi Arabia severely limits the rights of non-Muslims in the country, despite marginal improvements over previous years.
USCIRF said it looks forward to continuing conversations with the Saudi government to address the systematic issues that led to this incident.
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2 Responses
Butbif the guy wore a dirty diaper on his head, like them, that would have been fine.
One of Donald Trump’s attempts were to continue construction of the Keystone Pipeline and to rid America of its need for arab oil. One of the first things Biden did was to discontinue that effort. Let the Saudis enjoy their oil – we have enough ofnour own in Alaska and they’ll then come begging us for donations.
Chutzpa of these camel jockies