U.S. denies agreement with Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON -- The State Department said Thursday it has never had a policy to avoid assigning Jewish diplomats to Saudi Arabia, disputing an allegation made by a former foreign service official.

Overseas assignments are made "free from discrimination," said spokesman Philip T. Reeker.

Timothy Hunter, a former U.S. diplomatic official assigned to Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, alleges department policy was to avoid sending Jewish employees to the Arab kingdom under an agreement with the Saudis. In a letter this in June to Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, Hunter said it was "the duty of the Foreign Service director of personnel to screen all Foreign Service officers applying for service in the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and to 'tick' Jewish officers' names using the letter 'J' next to their names, so that selection panels would not select Jewish diplomats for service in Saudi Arabia."

Excerpts from the letter were reported this week by The Associated Press.

Reeker said Hunter's assertion was "completely wrong" and had been denied in the past by the State Department.