A New American Ambassador to Jordan, Reactions from the King and Opposition

1. Summary: Jordanian media has recently leaked news about the nomination of a new American Ambassador to Jordan Yael Lempert. A veteran diplomat, Lempert currently serves as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs. The Jordanian media has been welcoming Lempert’s nomination with a “song and dance”, as a sign of Jordan’s king trying to over-welcome and perhaps impress the new ambassador. JaFaJ sources confirm this is all a part of the attempt by the king and queen to secure western support for their son to become King as Abdullah is contemplating early retirement to defuse the restless and angry Jordanian people. The Jordanian opposition on the other hand is more sceptical of the new Ambassador and sees her as just an implementor of Biden’s policies which they see as “unconditional support for Abdullah” at the expense of Jordanians. Despite the drama the Jordanian regime is trying to attach to Lempert’s appointment, she is not expected to trigger any major changes as it will remain business as usual at the US Embassy in Amman.

2. Jordanian news sites have leaked the news Yael Lempert is the incoming United States Ambassador to Jordan. JaFaJ sources in Washington DC confirm this to be true and claim Lempert was hand-picked by the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and recommended to President Biden. A veteran diplomat, Lampert has served in some of the most challenging posts, including Iraq shortly after the American invasion and Egypt. For the Jordanian job, Lempert will leave her current position as Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs. She will be replacing Henry Wooster, the outgoing US Ambassador who was appointed by Trump barely three years ago.

Favored by the King and His Wife
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3. The state-controlled Jordanian media has been celebrating Lempert’s nomination as US Ambassador to Jordan. Several sites reported “Known for her love for Jordanian shawarma”, with a photo of her eating the traditional Arab meat sandwich from Reem shawarma, the most famous shawarma joint in Amman. Jo24.net, a Jordanian site known to be close to the Jordanian intelligence department, described Lempert as “extremely cautious, silent, and reserved”. According to those same sites, “It is likely that Lempert supports the Democratic Party and that she engages in her tasks with the utmost craftsmanship and professionalism, and without arrogance and fuss.”

4. This passionate, early welcome from the Jordanian regime’s mouthpiece, exhibits profound approval by the Hashemite Royal Court and the King’s office. A Jordanian intelligence source confirmed with JaFaJ that “The King didn’t like the old [ex] Ambassador because he applied Trump’s policies.” The source went on to add that “you also must remember who the real boss of this country is: the Queen is the boss, and she hopes that the new ambassador will help her son become king”.

5. JaFaJ has learned from sources within the Hashemite Royal Family that Queen Rania is avidly rounding up global support for her son, Crown Prince Hussein, to replace his father as King. King Abdullah II is apparently “fully supportive of the move” because it is a way to defuse the Jordanian public and open a new chapter with his son.

6. Nonetheless, the royal couple has been facing substantial obstacles in making their son a king. The first obstacle is the public’s anger toward the royal family, from both, the Jordanian Palestinian heritage and the Bedouin community as well. Both sides blame the royal family’s lavish and flamboyant lifestyle for the extreme economic hardship and the heavy security hand the king has been treating his opposition and the systematic discrimination against the Palestinian majority which has become more intense in the past few years.

7. Additionally, the Crown Prince’s lifestyle could be a major obstacle to his parents’ plans. While there is widespread national ‘conversation’ that Hussein is a homosexual, someone from Rania’s inner circle reported to JaFaJ that “He is definitely bisexual, but not strictly homosexual”. True or not, both claims have made the Crown Prince unacceptable the in eyes of a very conservative Jordanian society.

7. With the King and Queen openly desperate to crown their son Hussein, Western political sources close to Queen Rania’s Office have reported that she is betting that she will be able to recruit the new American ambassador in the hopes of securing political and economic support for her son. The source added, “Rania has a perception that personal connections to influential individuals may change the situation on the ground, but she does not necessarily understand that Western countries have government bodies that require due process”. The source continued, “She is delusional in the sense that she thinks she could turn things around with one phone call to what she believes is the right person – she has even called Sarah Netanyahu asking her for support for her son [the Crown Prince]”. [COMMENT: Sarah Netanyahu is the wife of the Israeli Prime Minister elect Benjamin Netanyahu. END COMMENT]

Jordan’s Opposition is Not Thrilled
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8. Unlike the Hashemite regime, the Jordanian Opposition does not seem to be very happy with the new appointment. An example of this was a tweet by Mohammad Btaibet, a senior member of the Jordanian Opposition Coalition (JOC), Btaibet wrote: “Abdullah II and Rania Antoinette of the Arabs are playing a game they can’t play, they are trying to change the American ambassador to Jordan”
[https://twitter.com/btaibet/status/1593414729590099968?s=20&t=taV8vmANe0_w74Z66MhjYw]

9. An Israeli source who is familiar with the JOC reported to JaFaJ, “The Opposition is convinced that the King should have been overthrown long ago, and was saved by the Democrats, particularly President Obama”. The source continued by saying that “They blame the Democrats for giving more years to the king’s iron fisted rule, and say that they cannot trust this Ambassador, Blinken and or the Democrats”.

10. A British politician who has a working relationship with the de facto leader of Jordan’s opposition, Mudar Adnan Zahran, quoted him as saying “I served in a senior position for the US Embassy Amman and I have come to believe Ambassadors aide policies, they do not make policy. Policies are made in Washington, the incoming Ambassador will only follow Biden’s policies which appear to be identical to Obama’s; unconditional support for Abdullah, and that the support came at the expense of the Jordanian people’s freedom and livelihoods”. He added that, “Sadly, the Dems don’t seem to understand that regimes come and go and that the people remain and it appears that they have gone all in on a King who is in a very fragile position and is losing credibility with those who matter, minute by minute, including the USA, and his own subjects – the Jordanian people”.

Her Jewish Heritage A Non-Issue
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11. Lempert is Jewish, though her upbringing is rather secular. Despite this, there does not seem to be any evidence of public resentment of her Jewish faith. Comments made by Jordanians on social media did not refer to her Jewish heritage despite her first name is very Hebrew. Instead, comments made by Jordanians over Twitter and Facebook ranged between welcoming her and questioning Jordan’s ties to America. Nonetheless, few comments joked about her being “the new American boss for Jordan” and the “the US Embassy being the real Jordanian government”.

Business as Usual
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12. Despite the melodramatic and unprecedented welcome from Jordan’s King-controlled media and the apparent anger from Jordan’s opposition, Lempert is not expected to launch any drastic changes in the way the Government of the United States (GUS) deals with Abdullah or his opposition. Lempert will not be anybody’s messiah. As for Hussein’s ambitions for the throne, this call is far above the pay rate and power of the new ambassador. Hence, it is safe to say that the GUS will not do anything differently in Jordan unless a drastic event is to take place, for example, a massive revolution or an ailment by the king, or his death. Hence, it will only be business as usual.