The following is via Bloomberg News:

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman met a group of religious leaders in New York, including two rabbis, a rare interfaith gesture for the de facto ruler of the conservative Islamic kingdom that allows negligible religious freedoms.

The 32-year-old heir to the throne, currently on a three-week tour of the U.S., met two Roman Catholic and three Jewish figures on Wednesday, the Saudi embassy in Washington said in a statement. Saudi Arabia enforces an austere interpretation of Sunni Islam, but Prince Mohammed has said he wants to ease the country toward �moderate Islam, open to the world and all religions.�

�The meeting emphasized the common bond among all people, particularly people of faith, which stresses the importance of tolerance, coexistence, and working together for a better future for all of humanity,� the embassy said. Although Prince Mohammed had recently met Christian figures, it marks the first time he�s announced a meeting with a Jewish religious leader.

While foreigners of other religions can worship privately in Saudi Arabia, there are no public churches, temples or synagogues. Importing crosses and other non-Islamic religious imagery — including the six-pointed Star of David — is banned, according to the Saudi customs website, and the kingdom�s minority Shiite Muslims complain of discrimination. There are some signs restrictions are softening: Christmas trees were displayed openly in some shops in the capital, Riyadh, for the first time last year.

Prince Mohammed�s meeting included Rabbi Richard Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism; Rabbi Steven Wernick, head of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; and Allen Fagin, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, the embassy said.

It�s not the first time a Saudi royal has met a rabbi; the late King Abdullah was photographed multiple times with New York-based Rabbi Marc Schneier.

(Source: Bloomberg News)