Jordan
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been ruled since 1953 by King Hussein
ibn Talal. Political reforms introduced from 1989 include the lifting of
martial law and the legalization of political parties. The first multi-party
elections since 1956 were held in 1993 and the largest bloc of seats was
won by the Hizb Jabhat al-Amal al-Islami (see MAINSTREAM POLITICS) backed
by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel in 1967 and in 1988
King Hussein formally relinquished the kingdom's claim to the West Bank.
The peace treaty signed by Israel and Jordan in October 1994 recognized
King Hussein as a guardian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. In April 1995
Jordan and Israel exchanged ambassadors and some ten bilateral agreements
were signed, paving the way for co-operation in the fields of trade, tourism
and agriculture. King Hussein visited Jerusalem publicly, for the first
time in three decades, in November 1995, to attend the funeral of Israeli
Prime Minister Rabin. He returned to Israel in January 1996 to participate
in a naming ceremony at a Tel Aviv hospital in memory of Rabin.
Official ties between Jordan and Israel were extended during the first half
of 1996: daily flights between the two countries commenced; private vehicles
were permitted to cross the border; and plans for co-operation in a number
of fields were initiated, despite protests from Islamist opposition. The
May election in Israel of a right-wing government led by Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu, however, increased public protest against the normalization
of relations with Israel. The outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in
September led Jordan to distance itself from Israel. Mounting criticism
at home meant King Hussein hosted fewer public meetings with Israeli and
Jewish delegations. Jordanian officials were conspicuously absent from the
December opening of Israel's embassy complex in Amman.
Bread riots in the south in August, reminiscent of social unrest in 1989,
underscored the tremendous difficulties facing Jordan's economy.
Until recently, a broad range of Arabic translations of antisemitic texts including The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was widely available. Since the signing of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, however, such material has been phased out of mainstream bookshops and is available today primarily in Islamist bookshops.
More than half of the Jordanian population is currently estimated to
be of Palestinian origin. Many of them are refugees who were granted citizenship
after fleeing in 1948 from Israel and in 1967 from the West Bank, and others
who carried Jordanian passports but lived in the Gulf states until the 1991
Gulf War. A growing number of hard-line East Bank Jordanians support the
"return" of Jordanians of West Bank origin to the Palestinian
territories. Although government policy does not support this attitude,
the king has declared that dual Palestinian-Jordanian citizenship will not
be permitted. (Jordanian nationals are barred from obtaining citizenship
of any other Arab country.)
Christian Arabs account for an estimated 3 per cent of the population of
Jordan. As in other parts of the Middle East, many Christians feel threatened
by militant Islamism and are emigrating to western countries. There is a
parliamentary quota for minorities. In 1996 the government declared Christmas
a national holiday for the first time and permitted the teaching of Christianity
in public schools.
Islamist groups, which oppose normalization of relations with Israel,
especially in the cultu-ral sphere, draw on antisemitic ideas from Islamic
and European sources alleging Jewish conspiracies.
The Anti-Zionism Anti-Racist Centre, opened in 1993 by Leith Shbeilat, president
of the Engineers' Association and a popular Islamist leader, was outlawed
but continues to operate. Its stated aim is "to unveil the motives
of Zionism around the world, its expansionist plans and its power in manipulating
the world's public opinion". Shbeilat, who was arrested in December
1995 for slandering the monarch, was pardoned in November 1996. The gesture
was interpreted as an attempt to ease the tension between government and
opposition.
The Hizb Jabhat al-Amal al-Islami (IAF, Islamic Action Front), led by
Ishaq al-Farhan, represents the Muslim Brotherhood in parliament. IAF members
reject the Middle East peace process and often combine antisemitic and anti-Zionist
rhetoric. During 1996, the IAF and other opposition deputies issued warnings
of "Jewish attempts" to dominate the kingdom and contended that
Jews were threatening the political and social stability of Jordan. Policy
statements expressed by the IAF were publicized primarily through the Islamist
press. An IAF deputy, Abd al-Mun'em Abu Zant, who remained one of the most
vociferous critics of Israel and of Jews in 1996, published a regular column
in al-Sabil (see PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA). Another IAF deputy, Suleiman
Sa'ad, was reported in the Jordan Times as charging that "the
Jews continue planting seeds of corruption in the Kingdom".
An independent deputy, Toujan Faisal, made a series of antisemitic remarks
during her address to the Rotary Club in Amman. Her speech, which was published
in al-Majid newspaper in December, referred to Jewish conspiracies
and claimed that "Jews don't regard Judaism as a source of values,
an ideology or a spiritual basis. They are no different from the Nazis .
. . the Nazis saw Jews for what they were".
Towards the end of the year, an unprecedented form of antisemitism emerged against the backdrop of the deteriorating Arab-Israeli peace process, when a shopkeeper in Amman displayed a small handwritten sign in English stating: "No dogs, no Jews."
In some instances, current textbooks go beyond the political context of the Arab-Israeli conflict and use antisemitic statements to justify anti-Zionist or anti-Israel sentiment. A 1993 edition of al-Kadiat al-Filistiniya (The Palestinian Cause) says of the Jews: "Their usury and love of money were the reasons people hated them. And this caused them to hate the societies they lived in." References to Zionists as agents of imperialism and proponents of expansionist schemes also occur. In the wake of the peace process some of these texts have been targeted for revision. The ministry of education, however, has been slow to adopt changes and reprint volumes (see PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA and COUNTERING ANTISEMITISM).
The mainstream press, over which the government exercises considerable
control, reflects a fairly positive attitude towards peace with Israel.
Yet a few columnists in the predominantly state-owned press and the opposition
press use antisemitic themes to illustrate their opposition to Israel and
Israeli leaders.
In Jordan's privately owned weekly tabloids antisemitic themes were more
common, particularly in the Islamic press. On 5 March (during the wave of
suicide bombings in Israel), al-Sabil 's deputy editor, Samih al-Ma'ayitah,
published an article entitled "Yes to This Jihad " in which
he quoted Qur'anic verses and stated: "There are no innocent people
among the Jews, they are all soldiers and settlers and they are all pawns
of aggression . . . Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt
thou find the Jews. Fight them and Allah will punish them by your hands
and disgrace them, helping you to victory over them." Following the
Israeli campaign in Lebanon in April, Mahmoud Abu Faras referred to Israelis
as "Jewish killers" in al-Sabil on 22 April. He blamed
the Jordanian government for whitewashing "Jewish rapes and Jewish
crimes against humanity". In the same edition, Dr Salah al-Khalidi
invoked religious rhetoric and antisemitism: "I solemnly swear that
al-Hai Ben Aktab sits in the heart of every Jew in this time and makes him
hate Islam and the Muslims." (Al-Hai Ben Aktab is believed to have
been king of the Jews in ancient Medina and his name is equated with evil.)
Dr Bassam Emoush, an Islamist deputy, also claimed in al-Sabil that
"Arab Christians have adopted the same stand taken by Jesus when he
described the Jews as 'sons of snakes'."
Antisemitism featured prominently in al-Sabil 's column on "Studies
in the Qur'an" by an Islamist deputy, Abd al-Mun'em Abu Zant. On 4
October, for example, he lambasted "Jewish crimes against Allah and
the Prophet". On 17 December, Abu Zant proclaimed in al-Sabil that
"the damage the Jews have done to humanity does not cease with the
passing of generations, since they spread corruption and immorality in human
society" (see HOLOCAUST DENIAL). On 24 December, Abu Zant's column
charged that "Jews have always been different from other peoples. Their
plans are driven by obsession with money." He went on to suggest that
Jews were masters of manipulation through psychological, economic, political
and military means.
Allegations of Jewish conspiracies emerged during periods of high tension
between Israel and its Arab neighbours. In the aftermath of the attack in
Qana in Lebanon, on 15 April, Salem Fallahat warned: "There is a big
danger threatening the USA and this is the Jewish threat. In every land
that the Jews set foot they bring down the ethical standards and they foul
commercial ethics.
Everywhere they go they keep themselves separate and try to strangle the
people economically as they did in Portugal and Spain. They pretend they
were persecuted and thus managed to deceive the world and to control their
lives."
On 26 November, al-Rai published an article entitled "Jewish
fundamentalism" by Ghazi al-Saudi in which Jews were accused of conspiring
to promote their national interests through the Internet. On 28 November,
the newspaper Akhbar al-Isbua published an article entitled "God's
Chosen People", which alleged that Jews believed they were allowed
to murder, steal and seize the property and women of others.
In general, the Jordanian press has preferred cartoons rather than the printed
word to express antisemitic themes. Al-Rai newspaper featured a large
cartoon on 21 April showing a long-bearded orthodox Jew with an Uzi machine
gun strapped to his back. Similar cartoons after the Israeli elections crudely
depicted orthodox Jewish parties as more powerful than ever before. Others
portrayed Jews as squeezing the blood out of helpless Arabs, cheating in
business and controlling the USA.
There has been a marked decline in the number of antisemitic publications
for sale. Virtually all bookshops have removed English-language copies of
western texts such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion . Fewer
copies of the Arabic version, published in Damascus, are available in central
Amman, but they are still widely distributed in Islamic bookshops in the
major cities. At the end of 1996 the Anti-Zionism Anti-Racist Centre (see
PARTIES, ORGANIZATIONS, MOVEMENTS) issued a new book in Arabic entitled
"Zionism in Word and Cartoons", which depicts Jews in a negative
light. It was registered with the National Library and the ministry of education
allowed it to be listed as one of the books to be distributed to pupils.
Jordanian bookshops continue to stock antisemitic literature published in
Arabic, much of which is printed in London or Beirut.
In August the French Holocaust-denier Roger Garaudy (see France) visited
Jordan as a guest of the daily newspaper al-Dustour and the General
Union of Arab Writers. Garaudy's visit was part of a Middle Eastern tour
that included Egypt, Syria and Morocco. In Jordan he launched his new book,
Les mythes fondateurs de la politique israélienne (Founding
Myths of Israeli Politics), published by al-Dustour , in which he
argues that "Zionist propaganda is based on the exaggeration of figures
related to the Holocaust" (see Egypt, Morocco, Syria).
Although virtually no public statements are made denying the Holocaust,
there is popular support in Jordan for the view that the mass destruction
of European Jewry during the Second World War either did not take place
or, as is widely held in the Arab world, that the Holocaust has been exaggerated
for political purposes. A few bookshops sell works in Arabic translation
that claim that the Holocaust is a hoax. Books documenting the Holocaust
continue to be banned in Jordan and the topic is not taught in schools.
Holocaust denial features among the antisemitic arguments expressed in the
Islamist press. On 5 December, for example, an IAF deputy, Abu Zant, published
a column in al-Sabil that claimed: "The Jews have discriminated
against the German nation through the great lie . . . that Hitler murdered
five million Jews [sic]." Zant asserted, "[W]hoever studies the
crimes of the Jews and their schemes of corruption and destruction in human
society will be convinced of the justice of Hitler's motives in punishing
the Jews."
It is important to stress that although Islamist rejectionism is often
antisemitic, secular pan-Arab opponents to the normalization of Arab relations
with Israel are primarily anti-Zionist. However, because the two ideological
groups often join forces in opposing government policy towards Israel, the
distinction has become somewhat blurred. While the mainstream press distinguishes
between Israelis and Jews, the tabloid press often does not. In common discourse,
the western-educated élite has started to take notice of the difference.
This was most evident in a public debate that took place among subscribers
to the local Internet server in the wake of the suicide bombings in Israel
in February and March. Dozens of participants who shared their views about
peace with Israel and the Palestinian issue consistently referred to Israelis,
not Jews. In fact, not a single antisemitic theme was used to punctuate
an anti-Zionist argument.
A series of events in 1996, such as the Israeli bombings in Lebanon in April
and the opening of the Hasmonean tunnel in Jerusalem in September, triggered
an antisemitic backlash in Jordan among groups opposed to normalization
of relations with Israel. A press statement issued by a twenty-one-member
opposition group in the lower house of parliament warned of a Jewish conspiracy
spearheaded by Israelis and proclaimed: "While a Jewish conspiracy
is being hatched against the Holy Land, the world remains passive and the
Arab countries are also keeping silent about Israel's illegal practices."
In an article in al-Sabil on 29 October, Ahmed al-Tourabi used antisemitic
arguments and quoted Qur'anic sources to condemn the normalization process
and proclaim that "Jews are thieves and fanatics". As elsewhere
in the Middle East in 1996, anti-Zionists frequently attempted to draw parallels
between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Hitler, and compared
Netanyahu's policies to Nazism. On 29 September, al-Rai published
a column by Moanes al Razaz attacking Netanyahu under the headline "Two
Hitlers in One Century". The columnist claimed that the only difference
between the two was that "Hitler was cunning while Netanyahu is proud
of his racism". On 26 December, an article in Akhbar al-Isbua described
Netanyahu in antisemitic terms: "He has a look of rage because of the
bloody struggle going on within him to realize the ideology of Talmudic
racism. The source of his inspiration is the oppressive Talmud. Netanyahu
believes only in taking. There is no such thing as giving in fascism and
Nazism, which Judaism created on the basis of the myth of a chosen people
and the theory of race." On 5 December, Qasem al-Qaraiti wrote in the
same publication that since childhood he had questioned the presence of
the "Jewish satan" on Palestinian land.
Al-Aswaq, the weekly financial newspaper, featured an article entitled
"Shylock Defeated at Wannsee?", in which the author condemned
Netanyahu's policies towards Hebron and claimed that it was typical of Jews
to use lies, theft, blackmail and intimidation. Writing in the same publication
on 9 December, Hassan Khalil Hussein alleged: "The people of Israel
returned to the path of corruption and God therefore sent them Hitler .
. . After Jerusalem returned to Zionist rule, waves of evil and tyranny
began, and there is therefore no doubt that Allah's promise will be fulfilled
and will bring an end to the extremist Jews . . . When victory is achieved,
the earth will tremble under the feet of the Jewish tyrants."
Jordan's twelve Islamist and leftist-dominated professional associations
have outlawed professional contacts with Israelis. At the start of 1996
the government was poised to clip the wings of this opposition by enacting
legislation to curb the political activities of the professional associations.
Public criticism of Israel following the Israeli elections in May encouraged
the Jordanian government to rethink the move.
King Hussein repeatedly refers in public to the links between the "children
of Abraham" and the three great faiths of Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
In 1995 Crown Prince Hassan established the Royal Council for Interfaith
Studies, which publishes a monthly journal in English that includes articles
by Israeli and western scholars about the Jewish religion.
A delegation from the Interparliamentary Council against Antisemitism, headed
by a British member of parliament, Greville Janner, visited Jordan in January
as guests of the crown prince. During their visit, members of the delegation
were consulted by Jordanian leaders on the establishment of a similar organization
to counter anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe.
Although the Israel-Jordan peace treaty commits both states to limit "hostile
propaganda", debate continues in Jordan over the extent of reform.
The ministry of education has announced its intention to reform the social
studies curriculum in order to minimize the "emotionally charged"
content of books, much of which is antisemitic. The Amman Baccalaureate,
Jordan's leading private school, now teaches Judaism as part of the religion
curriculum (but it is the only school to do so).
The official attitude towards Jews in 1996 continued to improve. However,
in the second half of the year-following the outbreak of violence between
Israelis and Palestiniansthe Jordanian government adopted a less rigorous
approach to normalizing economic and political relations with Israel. King
Hussein undoubtedly remains committed to the 1994 peace treaty.
Although Jordanians will be able to benefit from economic gains that may
flow from the peace agreement and bilateral accords Jordan has signed with
Israel (even if the slowness of this process has fuelled resentment against
the peace process), normalization will no longer be a government priority.
Moreover, it will be difficult to restore warm relations with Israel in
the absence of wider progress in the peace process. It may be too early
to assess whether, and to what extent, the fate of Jordan's relations with
Israel will affect attitudes towards Jews in general.
© JPR 1997