In a press release issued Monday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said that last week it ended an official visit to Saudi Arabia early after the delegation was told to leave the Diriyah UNESCO World Heritage Site in Riyadh because USCIRF Chairman Rabbi Abraham Cooper would not remove his kippah (head covering). The press release says in part:
The Saudi government had invited the delegation, led by Chair Cooper and Vice Chair Reverend Frederick A. Davie, to tour the site on March 5, as part of their official visit to the country that had started on March 3. After several delays to the tour, officials requested that Cooper, an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, remove his kippah while at the site and anytime he was to be in public, even though the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs had approved the site visit. U.S. Embassy staff accompanying the USCIRF delegation supported and conveyed to Saudi officials Chair Cooper’s polite but resolute refusal to remove the kippah. Despite their efforts, site officials escorted the delegation off the premises after Chair Cooper indicated he sought no confrontation or provocation but as an observant Jew could not comply with a request to remove his kippah.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. issued a statement (full text) saying in part:
This unfortunate incident was the result of a misunderstanding of internal protocols.... We look forward to welcoming him back to the Kingdom.
