An American delegation cut short its visit to Saudi Arabia because one of its members needed to remove his kippah.

A delegation from United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had to cut short his visit Saudi ArabiaEta After one of its members was asked to remove his kippah.

Orthodox Rabbi Abraham Cooper And respectable Frederick Davy They were this Monday Diriyah, a historic city declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, near the Saudi capital Riyadh, as part of an official visit. Although from the beginning the delegation experienced delays and setbacks that plagued the trip, everything turned upside down when local authorities asked Cooper to leave. Take off the kippah

“As long as he was on site and at all times he had to be in public,” even with prior approval of the visit by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

rabbi He refused “requests to remove the religious veil from his head”.Due to which his visit to the country was postponed.

“No one should be denied access to a heritage site, especially one intended to highlight unity and progress, simply because they exist as Jews.”He expressed regret over what happened, he announced in a statement.

When he highlighted that Saudi Arabia is in the middle of encouraging change under its ‘Vision 2030’ reform plan, (…) especially in these times of anti-Semitism, the fact that he asked me to remove my kippah. It is impossible for us to continue our visit from USCIRF,” he added.

Davy also spoke after what had happened, though he was a little more reticent when commenting on the fact, “Uncomfortable and painful(…) It directly contradicted not only the official government narrative regarding the change, but also the real signs of greater religious freedom in the state, which we were able to observe first-hand.”

Meanwhile, the commission limited itself to expressing regret for the episode that coincidentally involved a representative of a “US government agency that promotes religious freedom.”

This event took place in the middle of a war that has been going on since the end of 2023 Gaza Stripin between Israel and terrorist armies Hamas. Since the conflict broke out on October 7, numerous acts Anti-Semitism Condemnation of the actions of the Jewish state has emerged around the world.

For example, on October 31, in dozens of buildings Paris and appeared with adjacent areas Star of David The front was painted in an attempt to commemorate the Nazi occupation of the French capital during World War II and the deportation of Jews to extermination camps.

Also, in European and United States universities, Pro-Palestine Movement who often organize marches with demands to “stop the carnage in Gaza”. The directors of the prestigious universities of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT were also criticized in the Jewish community for their handling of these events and their vague responses in this regard.