LOS ANGELES : Businessman Gets Saudi Visa, but Cancels Trip

A Woodland Hills businessman who had difficulty obtaining a visa to Saudi Arabia because he is Jewish said Thursday that he will not travel to the Arab country, even though he has been granted permission.

John Schwartz, who wanted to attend an auction of surplus U.S. war materiel left behind after the Persian Gulf War, said he had decided against the trip because his visa identifies him as being Jewish. “I wrote a letter to the prince saying thanks but no thanks,” said Schwartz, referring to Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar Bin Sultan. “This is not acceptable.”

Schwartz, who spent five months in a Nazi concentration camp, protested to U.S. and Saudi officials last month when his business partner was advised by the Saudi auctioneers to send a non-Jewish representative because “it is difficult to get the visa for a person who is Jewish.”

The Saudi Embassy intervened and issued the visa, saying the country does not discriminate against American citizens. A Saudi diplomat said it is necessary to identify religious affiliation because non-Muslims are barred from entering Mecca.