by Michael Freund, JPost
October 27, 2016
Yesterday marked the 22nd anniversary of the signing of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, an event heralded at the time as a historic breakthrough, one that would bring about a warm and lasting reconciliation between the two countries for generations to come.
So much for the desert-driven delusions of the past.
For while the accord has certainly resulted in mutually beneficial arrangements, such as the 15-year gas deal signed by Jerusalem and Amman last month, the sad fact is that although Jordan may be Israel’s neighbor, it isn’t really much of a friend.
Take, for example, the ongoing soap opera involving UNESCO, the UN agency that has spent a considerable amount of time over the past few weeks trying to deny the undeniable by repudiating Israel’s historical, spiritual and emotional ties to Jerusalem.
When the organization affirmed a resolution last week labeling the Temple Mount a Muslim shrine, our Jordanian pals hailed the decision as a “victory” and unashamedly claimed credit for having drafted the offensive decision.
According to the kingdom’s official Petra News Agency, the text approved by UNESCO “was prepared by the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, and presented by the Jordanian mission to UNESCO in coordination with the Palestinian mission.”
The resolution, which was passed under the heading “Occupied Palestine,” was labeled “historic” by Jordan’s Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani, who went on to parrot claims by Muslim extremists that Israel was endangering sites such as the Dome of the Rock and the Aksa Mosque, both of which sit on the Temple Mount.
Needless to say, this is hardly the way a true partner in peace should be behaving.
Indeed, Jordan repeatedly and habitually seeks to undermine Israel and its legitimacy at just about every international forum possible.
Two years ago, for example, the UN Security Council debated a diplomatically dangerous resolution that demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines by the end of 2017 and called for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Guess which country submitted the harshly anti-Israel draft? Fortunately, the resolution failed to pass when it did not garner the required nine votes, but that didn’t stop Jordanian UN ambassador Dina Kawar from stating, “The fact that this draft resolution was not adopted will not at all prevent us from proceeding to push the international community, specifically the United Nations, toward an effective involvement to achieving a resolution to this conflict.”
In other words, Amman would continue to try to coerce the Jewish state in the international arena.
And that is exactly what Jordan’s King Abdullah has frequently done, lambasting and threatening Israel in often ruthless terms.
Two years ago, the unelected monarch accused Israel of “slaughtering our children in Gaza and Jerusalem every five minutes.” And just last month, while speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, he publicly warned Israel in ominous terms that if it does not “embrace peace” and accept the establishment of a Palestinian state, then the Jewish state will “eventually be engulfed in a sea of hatred in a region of turmoil.”
How sweet of him.
But hostility toward Israel and Jews isn’t confined to the corridors of power in Jordan. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that it is a widely-held sentiment among the vast majority of the Jordanian public.
According to the ADL Global 100 survey of worldwide antisemitism, which was conducted between July 2013 and February 2014, a whopping 81 percent of Jordanians hold antisemitic views. Two-thirds of Jordanians surveyed said they believe that Jews are responsible for most of the wars in the world, while even larger majorities assert that Jews have too much control over global affairs, the media and the business world.
And there is widespread support for extremism among the Jordanian populace.
A 2014 survey conducted by Jordan’s Center for Strategic Studies found that nearly 40% of the Jordanian public does not consider Islamic State (ISIS) to be a “terrorist organization.”
Another poll, conducted by the Washington Institute, revealed that 72% of Jordanians have a “positive” or “very positive” view of Hamas, which was the highest figure observed in any of the six Arab countries surveyed.
Of course, compared to some of the neighboring countries in the region, Jordan looks like a relative island of stability, one that has thus far succeeded in staving off a descent into Islamist jihadist chaos. But it would be foolish to view Jordan as a friend or ally, because it simply isn’t. It is a country with which we are at peace, but it is a chilly peace that appears to be growing colder with each passing year.
bernard ross Said:
@ Austin:
the treaty with jordan is dependent on the dwarf and the dwarf is dependent upon Israel… all based on a discredited paradigm that stability in the lands of the enemy is good. No, chaos in enemy lands is best… Israel is better off today with her enemies due to the chaos of the fake “arab spring” which has brought chaos and disorder to the enemy land and those with unreliable treaties. Even the situation with egypt has improved because egypt has been under war, stress and disorder… same with Jordan…….. look at lebanon, syria and iraq… all reduced threats due to the chaos, suffering and war …. even saudi, the gcc are a better situation….. none of these due to treaties or friendliness… all due to their disorder…. Hence chaos, suffering and misery in the lands of all the enemies is a good thing to be desired.
The same is true of europe, europe is a covert enemy that funds jew killers…hence the disorder in europe should be considered as a possible weakening of those who can cause you damage and/or a change of heart towards the muslims and jews…. its all a result of their troubles, not their good intentions
Austin Said:
you misunderstand me… I agree with you…. it is the false premise of fake stability which Israel uses to prop him up… what I am saying is that the new premise should be the opposite… that without the foreign dwarf stooge there could be a pal state there. That Israel should either exploit that opportunity or even create it…. eg if IS destabilizes jordan they should allow or covertly facilitate its fall and then under the pretext of stabilization go in bring order and install a friendly gov who can open the border to pal immigration to Jordan(eg Munair Zadhran) if the dwarf were not there the pals could be driven across the river. Therefore although the treaty prevents action now a future situation should be exploited oppositely to propping him up. Even a hostile gov there can allow when war with the pals occurs that they be made to flee across the river.
@ bernard ross<bernard ross Said:
bernard ross Said:
I think you’re wrong here, I know you’re wrong. It’s Israel which is propping up that little bastard and it’s the IDF which prevents invasion across the Jordan.
In fact, this is the very first comment you’ve made for quite qhile which I disagree with very much. Maybe in a moment of……. something
No doubt about it, the article by Freund hits every nail squarely on the top, driving in…again.. the fact that Jordan is behind much of the obloquy which descends upon Israel’s head regularly. Israel should JUST ONCE, show it’s teeth to this false friend in a BIG way, to keep Jordan on the “path of “rectitude and righteousness”. The midget kinglet is doing a swagger to show to his Arab buddies that he’s with them, but that the cursed Jews are too close to his borders to show it more than he does……..which is indeed far more than necessary.
He is behind all that crap around the Temple Mount, that midget kinglet whose very existence depends solely on the fact that Israel is next door and will protect him. That dog.
As a side not, although the article is excellent in every way, I could not help thinking that our friend Freund (great alliteration, like “out Friend Flicka”)), is the right one to mention delusions at the beginning of his script.
HIS delusions of course come in the form of ferreting out obscure formerly cannibal “Lost Tribes” in the outer reaches of human settlement, and, never mind that they have never had a trace genetically of ANY Jewish Blood…has his tame, well paid rabbinim to pronounce them one of the other of the “Missing Tribes” who were never really missing…if anyone wants to think about it and come to the correct conclusions.
THAT’S delusions if you need an example.
My view is that the peace with Jordan AND with Egypt is unreliable in the longer term. It depends solely on who leads and leashes the population. Both populations are strongly anti semitic and hateful. This cannot be a good formula for peace and stability over the long term. Israel should always have a backup plan for exploiting a fall of gov especially in Jordan AND a plan for intentional destabilization of Jordan in the right circumstances. The current hashemite king is the only thing obstructing the driving of the enemy across the river and taking the land of israel back. A fall or destabilization can be a pretext for going in and installing a friendly gov who will open the borders to pal immigration to jordan from Israel.
A time may come when winning a war for Israel allows it to dispose of the land as it desires. Draining gaza and Israel of the enemy to sinai could even be possible in the future. I would think that Russia and China would be more favorable to the principle of keeping land from conquest.
Many outcomes other than peace based on the status quo or withdrawal are very possible if thinking out of the box. Israel should open up the agenda that it will not in the future return any land obtained in war nor will it host an enemy population on land it controls… a simple common sense agenda not available under the GC.
I found this un-intentionally funny:
“‘Shut Up!’, he explained.” – Dorothy Parker
Not so funny:
“Island of Peace massacre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Island of Peace massacre
Israel outline jezreel.png
Red pog.svg
The attack site
Location Island of Peace on the Israeli-Jordanian border
Coordinates 32°38?26?N 35°34?0?E
Date March 13, 1997
Attack type
Mass murder
Weapons M16 rifle
Deaths 7 Israeli schoolgirls
Non-fatal injuries
5 Israeli schoolgirls
1 Israeli teacher
Perpetrator Jordanian Army Corporal Ahmed Daqamseh
The Island of Peace massacre was a mass murder attack that occurred at the Island of Peace site in Naharayim on March 13, 1997 in which a Jordanian soldier opened fire at a large group of Israeli schoolgirls from the AMIT Fuerst School in Beit Shemesh who were on a class field trip, killing seven of them and injuring six others.
The shooter, who expressed pride for his actions, was imprisoned by Jordanian authorities, but was later called a “hero” by the Jordanian Justice Minister, Hussein Mjalli, and Parliament, who called for his release.[1][2]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_Peace_massacre
“History of the Jews in Jordan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Map of Jordan
The history of the Jews in Jordan can be traced back to Biblical times when much of the land that is now Jordan was part of the Land of Israel.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Jordan