Saudi Arabia claims ‘misunderstanding’ after incident with US delegation over kippah

She mentions an “unfortunate” event. The Saudi Arabian embassy in the United States said Tuesday that a “misunderstanding” was behind an incident when a delegation from the U.S. religious freedom commission 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 make it clear that this unfortunate incident was the result of a misunderstanding regarding internal protocols,” the Saudi Embassy in Washington said in a statement.

USCIRF Chairman Abraham Cooper, who is also a rabbi, was asked to remove his kippah in early March while visiting the city of Diriyah, northwest of Riyadh, classified as a UNESCO world heritage site. This “prevented us, the USCIRF members, from continuing our visit,” he said in a statement Monday.

The issue was raised with “high-ranking officials”

The Saudi Arabian embassy said on Tuesday that “the matter was raised with senior officials and His Royal Highness the Ambassador had the opportunity to speak with the rabbi.” “The issue has been resolved, but we respect his decision not to continue the visit,” she adds.

The incident, which occurred on March 5, comes 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 after the end of the conflict.