She mentions an “unfortunate” event.
The Saudi embassy in the United States said Tuesday that a "misunderstanding" was at the origin of the incident which saw a delegation from an American commission on religious freedom cut short its visit to Saudi Arabia in early March after one of its members was asked to remove his kippah.
“We would like to clarify the following: this unfortunate incident was the result of a misunderstanding around internal protocols,” the Saudi Embassy in Washington said in a statement.
A statement regarding a recent incident involving a US Delegation Visiting Saudi Arabia https://t.co/t1C1GQZvsx pic.twitter.com/nh4ZIAZxfp
— Saudi Embassy USA (@SaudiEmbassyUSA) March 12, 2024
The chairman of the American Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Abraham Cooper, who is also a rabbi, was asked in early March to remove his kippah when visiting the site of Diriyah, northwest of Riyadh, classified as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
This “prevented us, USCIRF members, from continuing our visit,” he said in a statement Monday.
The matter raised with “senior officials”
The Saudi embassy said Tuesday that "the matter had been raised with senior officials and His Royal Highness the ambassador had the opportunity to speak with the rabbi."
“The matter has been resolved but we respect his decision not to continue the visit,” she adds.
The incident, which took place on March 5, came amid tensions between the Saudi kingdom and Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip and US efforts to promote normalization of relations between the two States once the conflict is over.