Monarch in the Middle
by Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic, March 18, 2013
Though he acknowledges the role Netanyahu plays in maintaining Jordanian stability, he is not optimistic about Israel’s future. King Abdullah is known as an advocate of two states for two peoples—Israel secure in its pre-1967 borders, Palestine to be established in Gaza and the West Bank—but when I asked him in January how much time he thought was left to implement this idea, his answer surprised me. “It could be too late already for the two-state solution,” he said. “I don’t know. Part of me is worried that is already past us.”
If it were too late, what would that mean?
He responded with a single word: “Isratine.” That’s a neologism popularized by the late Muammar Qaddafi to describe his vision of a joint Arab-Jewish state. If Israel doesn’t agree to a Palestinian state quickly, Abdullah said, “apartheid or democracy” will be its choice. “The practical question is, can Israel exert permanent control over Palestinians who are disenfranchised ad infinitum, or does it eventually become a South Africa, which couldn’t survive as a pariah state?”
There are some Israelis, I said, who value Israel more as a Jewish state than as a democratic state. “The only way you’re going to have a Jewish part is if you have a two-state solution. That’s the Jewish part,” he said.
I asked him whether he believed President Obama wants to work on Middle East peace. “That’s the million-dollar question,” he said. He added that John Kerry clearly does. “We have a second-term president,” Abdullah said, suggesting that only a president in his second term has the maneuverability, and the experience, to oversee an effective peace process. “This is the last moment. Can it be achieved in four years? Are we too late? After four years, it’s over.”
A Secret Jew in Jordan
by Joe Freeman, Tablet, December 20, 2012
As my second year in the Corps began, I was teaching an eighth-grade English class. Strolling through the rows during an exercise, I stopped next to a student carving a swastika into his desk with a pen. He looked up guiltily as if he had been caught drawing cartoons. I took a piece of chalk and drew a large white swastika on the board, pointing at it repeatedly amid a scattered historical lecture about the Holocaust, World War II, and Hitler’s mustache. I left the room early and believed I had made my point. The next day, I bounded up the stairs to my classroom to find two words scrawled on the door in thick, red marker: Ghurfat Hitler: Hitler’s room. I pushed the door open slowly, and my eyes drifted to the blackboard, which several students had peppered with small white swastikas. I scanned the silent room for perpetrators. Everyone was grinning. I wiped the board clean, shrugged off what appeared to be a prank, and began teaching the lesson as if nothing happened. But when I went home that day, I called our Jordanian security officer and asked for guidance. He told me that to many people in Jordan, Hitler is considered a hero. I said it was wrongheaded history but avoided telling him that the swastikas had bothered me so much because I was Jewish.
I withdrew from social interactions, and the quality of my service in the Peace Corps rapidly deteriorated. I started taking sick days from school. I isolated myself on the weekends and avoided villagers who knocked on my door. I started to turn down invitations. Then the invitations stopped coming.
Situated in the hills, my village afforded sweeping westward views of the Jordan Valley, flat and hot as the bottom of an iron. At night I could see the headlights of cars across the border, winding around roads in Israel. It was around this dreary period of my service that I decided to take a trip there. I wasn’t seeking solace among the company of Jews in particular; I just wanted a break from Jordan, and taking a taxi to the border was the quickest way out of the country. But instead of vacationing, I spent the entire time fretting about what to do once I got back. The Peace Corps requires that volunteers check in upon returning. I sent an email saying I was back in Jordan when I wasn’t yet. Having told so many lies in the past year, did one more untruth matter? In this case, it did. I returned a day after the appointed time and was summoned to the office. Apparently, our security officer contacted officials at the border. I was busted. It was a fitting note to make an exit on. A trip to “Indiana” ended my failed experiment as a secret Jew in Jordan.
Warily, They Conquered East Jerusalem
by Abraham Rabinovich, The Forward, May 23, 2012
A few days before the war, Dayan had surveyed the Jordanian lines with the front commander, the Israeli general Uzi Narkiss, and said that the upcoming war would be focused entirely on Egypt. “You must avoid any action that would entangle us with Jordan,” Dayan told him.
With the bulk of Israel’s army poised on Egypt’s border, the last thing Israel wanted was the opening of another front. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol sent a message to King Hussein via the United Nations as the Israeli planes were returning from destroying the Egyptian air force in the first hours of the war: We will not attack you if you don’t attack us. Narkiss’s troops had orders to respond to Jordanian fire with restraint and to avoid escalation.
In signing a defense pact with Egypt, however, Hussein had handed over command of his army to an Egyptian general, Abdel Moneim Riad, whose intention was to escalate as much as possible. To draw off Israeli forces from the Sinai, he ordered a Jordanian tank brigade to threaten Beersheba from the West Bank. To protect the tank route, Jordanian troops occupied U.N. headquarters in Jerusalem, which abutted the road, and moved several hundred yards into Israeli territory. Despite this incursion, which was driven back, and the fact that Jordanian artillery was pounding the heart of Israeli Jerusalem, Israel agreed to a renewed U.N. request for a cease-fire. Jordan refused.
What finally ended Israeli restraint was an announcement on Cairo Radio that Jordanian troops had captured Mount Scopus, an Israeli enclave behind Jordanian lines. Since 1948, Israel had maintained a garrison of 120 troops on the mount, rotated in U.N.-protected convoys. No attack had in fact been launched on Scopus, but Israel saw the broadcast as a clear statement of intent. A paratroop brigade commanded by Mordechai Gur, a colonel, was dispatched to Jerusalem with orders to break through to Scopus.
After Amman, Whither the Peace Process?
Barak Ravid has written up (as the Israelis tell it) the direction of the most recent round of talks between the Israelis and Palestinians regarding the two-state solution. This particular round was attended principally by Isaac Molho, envoy for Benjamin Netanyahu, and Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinians. The talks, which took place in Amman under the patronage of King Abdullah II of Jordan and at the behest of the Quartet, ended as with all those that have occurred under Sharon, Olmert, and Netanyahu in collapse and mutual blame. These are the take-out moments for Ravid’s report:
1. The Palestinian position was outlined in the first meeting, and is described by Ravid as “not surprising”:
On the topic of borders, the Palestinians called for a return to 1967 borders with an acceptance of land-swaps of 1.9% of the West Bank. On the topic of security, the Palestinians agreed to a demilitarized state (devoid of heavy weaponry), and the stationing of an international force on the border between Israel and Jordan, with no presence of Israeli soldiers.
2. During the first meeting, the Israelis claim that the Palestinians “immediately demanded a freeze on settlement building and freeing prisoners” and emphasised that “from their point of view, the talks would end on January 26”. Molho was said to have retracted, “We had just begun and you are already threatening to end the talks”. Two further meetings were in fact agreed to.
3. At the second meeting, Head of the Strategic Planning Division in the IDF Planning Directorate, Brigadier-General Assaf Orion was invited “in order to summarize Israel’s position on security arrangements”. The Israelis insist that the Palestinians “were not willing to hear the Israeli general”, and delayed the meeting by an hour-and-a-half.
Mideast Media Roundup: July 1, 2011
Syria
- al-Jazeera: Deaths reported as huge protests grip Syria
- Guardian: Clinton demands urgent reforms as Syrian forces kill protesters
Libya
- Washington Post: France sent arms to Libyan rebels
- Guardian: Gaddafi’s son claims NATO wants deal with Libya
- Guardian: Muammar Gaddafi threatens European ‘homes, officies, families’
Israel/Palestine
- Haaretz: Greece blocks departure of all Gaza-bound ships
- Jerusalem Post: Noam Shalit: Government hasn’t pressured Hamas in 5 years
Yemen
- al-Jazeera: Hundreds of thousands rally across Yemen
Lebanon
- Independent: UN blames Hezbollah for Hariri bomb murder
- Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “less inclined to enter a new conflict with Israel”
Morocco
- al-Jazeera: Morocco votes on revised constitution
Jordan
MIDEAST MEDIA ROUNDUP: June 3, 2011
Yemen
- al-Jazeera: Yemen president ‘alive and well after attack’
- Guardian: Yemen: attack on president keeps observers guessing
- Washington Post: Elite Yemeni families at centre of clashes
- BBC: Yemeni youth protest ‘overshadowed’ by tribal conflict
- New York Times: Chaos in Yemen drives economy to edge of ruin
- Independent: US envoy embarks on mission to halt Yemen sliding into civil war
Syria
- al-Jazeera: ‘Dozens killed’ in fresh Syria protests
- Haaretz: IDF sources: Assad regime will eventually succumb to Syria protests
- New York Times: Syria continues attacks on protesters while calling for dialogue
Libya
- al-Jazeera: NATO jets target Libyan capital
- Guardian: Bodies of 150 African refugees found off Tunisian coast
- CNN: Qatari expulsion of alleged Libyan rape victim upsets US
Israel/Palestine
- Haaretz: Palestinians cancel Naksa Day march to Israel-Lebanon border (AP)
- Haaretz: French peace plan would require Palestinian recognition of Jewish state
- Guardian: Israel government ‘reckless and irresponsible’ says ex-Mossad chief
Bahrain
- al-Jazeera: Bahrain police ‘suppress protest’
- BBC: FIA approves return of Bahrain Grand Prix to Formula One calendar
- Guardian: Bahrain grand prix decision not about money, says Bernie Ecclestone
Iraq
- Washington Post: At least 17 killed when bomb levels mosque in Tikrit
- New York Times: Iraq arrests seen as effort to squelch more protests
Jordan
- Haaretz: Jordan protesters step up calls for PM to resign (AP)
(Photograph: Reuters)
ronbarak asked: Re "Netanyahu's Bizarre Response to Obama's Palestinian Proposal" The adjustmets to the 1967 borders that would make Israel defence feasible is having the Eastern Israeli border on the West bank of the Jordan river, instead of 15 KM from Netanya. This means that the proposed Palesinian state would not have a border with the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, and thus could not be armed directly from Iran, Iraq or Syria.
My apologies, but I am not sure as to what you are proposing exactly, but would like to hear more about this idea. To have the eastern Israeli border on the west bank of the Jordan river at the point of Netanya would mean to wipe the Palestinian state off the map, and I’m not sure that is what you intended to say.
You may be referring to this idea proposed by Netanyahu of the need for an Israeli army division to patrol and maintain the border between the West Bank (Palestine) and Jordan (in order to prevent said border turning into the sorry condition of the perimeter between Egypt and Gaza (though I don’t believe this would happen)).
I do not believe this would be an acceptable solution for two reasons. First of all, it would mean a maintain by proxy of the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces, which we already recognise to be unsustainable. Second, having the IDF control access to and from the new Palestinian state would undermine its sovereignty and independence.
The notion of a force on the Jordanian/Palestinian/Israeli border is not without merit. However, it would need to be an independent international force (such as the UN, or the EU, or the Quartet or whatever) or a multinational Israeli/Arab unit made up of Jordanians, Egyptians, Palestinians and Israelis. The IDF on the Jordan river is not the answer.
The Middle East's Marie Antoinettes
by Nooren Malone, Slate, March 23, 2011.
In many ways, Rania’s appearance also meshes perfectly with Western ideas of what an enlightened Arab woman might look like: Not only does she speak her mind, she’s unveiled, and she wears pretty much whatever she wants. The writer of the Vogue profile half-acknowledged this part of her appeal, writing: “I can look at Rania … and not make assumptions. But, as a Western woman, I do make assumptions when a faceless woman is hidden under a niqab or burka.”
Rania’s image doesn’t play as well at home, however. Muslimah Media Watch blogger Sana Saeed put the problem this way in an email: “Rather than speaking to the very people she seeks to represent, Rania speaks beyond them.” Nor do they like her spendthrift ways: The lavish clothes that land her on best-dressed lists rankle in a country where an estimated 25 percent of people live in poverty. During the recent Jordanian protests, a group of the country’s Bedouin tribesmen wrote an unpredecented open letter criticizing the monarchy and accusing Rania of corruption and extravagant spending. (For an example of which, see the queen’s 40th birthday party, which the Spectator describedthus: “Six hundred guests were flown in from all over the world. Two giant figure ‘40’s were beamed on to mountainous outcrops – although the neighbouring villages don’t even have electricity. Locals still speak of the water used to dampen down the sand so that the guests could walk more easily, though there were desperate water shortages nearby.”) The tribesmen’s letter went on to compare Rania to the unapologetically spendy Leila Trabelsi, wife of deposed Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and so-called “Imelda Marcos of the Arab world.” Whether or not there is merit to the comparison, or to the corruption charges more broadly, even the suggestion draws attention to the contrast between her personal habits and the values she advocates publicly.
THE EGYPT FILES
“A Quick Egyptian Coda,” January 28, 2011, 11:39PM
“Hosni Mubarak announced tonight that he had sacked the government, except himself, and will appoint another. (I am sure, however, that he would prefer to follow the advice of Brecht, and dissolve the people instead.) This moment will hopefully be the tipping point, past which there can be no return. Mubarak must and will go, and I support the Egyptian protest movement wholeheartedly in their endeavours.”
“Mubarak’s Dying Shuffle,” January 29, 2011, 5:33PM
“I cannot help but draw historical parallels to the fall of the Berlin Wall. …The main difference though between the Velvet Revolutions of Eastern Europe, and today’s demonstrations in the Arab world, is both the speed of development and the use of violence. In East Germany, a month elapsed between their cabinet reshuffle and the government’s demise. In Egypt, we seem to be talking about days.”
“On Egypt, A Concern for Israel,” January 29, 2011, 10:13PM
“Reports from Al Jazeera and CNN state that Mubarak may be welcome to a stay in exile at the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv, after being rejected by the Saudis. Such a move would be suicidal for the Israelis: not only would it hand the Islamist movement ready-made propaganda material, but it would undermine relations with any future democratic Egyptian government.”
“The Desert Blooms,” January 30, 2011, 3:15PM
“Statements of internal solidarity shall do much to stabilise conditions on the ground, creating a sense that out of this chaos, order shall be returned. More importantly perhaps, the Muslim Brotherhood’s demonstration of support for the Nobel Laureate ElBaradei should do much to provide reassurance to the West, and to Israel in particular, that this democratic revolution will not be hijacked by Islamic fundamentalists, as was the case in Iran after the Shah’s deposition.”
“So, What If Mubarak Doesn’t Step Aside?” January 31, 2011, 7:12PM
“Media has been quick to declare the similarity between Egypt 2011 and Iran in 1979: a populist uprising throwing off the shackles of oppression, disposing and deporting their leader in the process. But, what if the Egyptian Revolt turn into not the Iranian Revolution of 1979, but the aborted Green Revolution of 2009? …Then, as now, the United States failed to throw the full might of its political strength behind the people.”
“A Final Thought for Israel,” January 31, 2011, 11:24PM
“A new government is inevitable: it would do Israel the world of good to stop enabling Mubarak now. There was little need, for example, for the Netanyahu administration to allow Egypt to move troops into the Sinai – a demilitarised zone since 1979. …Israel needs to embody the principles the State was founded on: of a democratic homeland for a disenfranchised and subjugated people. This would require moving away from Mubarak. Netanyahu: Make it so.”
“All Change, Please: Syria (Part 1),” February 1, 2011, 7:09PM
“If totalitarianism is a cliché, then Bashir al-Assad comes straight out of central casting. His black-mustachio’ed face does indeed gaze down at you from every street corner. The al-Assad’s have done nothing for the people of Syria, save keeping the state insular, away from the world’s glare. …Opposition has been, up until this moment, non-existent. …Now, a tiny lotus flower grows in the mud.”
“All Change, Please: Israel/Jordan (Part 2),” February 1, 2011, 8:19PM
“And the world falls into place. …Ynet News today reports a change in policy, since Benjamin Netanyahu now argues that Israel will “encourage the promotion of values of freedom and democracy in the Middle East.” This comes with a necessary caveat: a warning with regard to the dangers of Islamism. …Netanyahu did ‘make it so’.”
“All Change, Please: Egypt (Part 3),” February 1, 2011, 9:40PM
“Everybody, particular Media, has been guilty over the past few days of being caught up in the glorious mania of mass revolt - what some have termed ‘revolution porn’. On reflection, it would perhaps be best of Egypt, for Israel and for the region as a whole, if the move from autocracy to democracy were handled with grace.”
All Change, Please: Israel/Jordan (Part 2)
And the world falls into place. Yesterday, I wrote that, since a new government in Egypt is inevitable, it would do Israel a world of good to stop enabling Hosni Mubarak. “Israel needs to embody the principles the State was founded on: of a democratic homeland for a disenfranchised and subjugated people. This would require moving away from Mubarak. Netanyahu: Make it so.”
Ynet News today reports a change in policy, since Benjamin Netanyahu now argues that Israel will “encourage the promotion of values of freedom and democracy in the Middle East.” This comes with a necessary caveat: a warning with regard to the dangers of Islamism. But critically this is the first time the Israeli government has publically distanced itself from Mubarak. Netanyahu did ‘make it so’.
On Saturday, in an extensive commentary on Jordan, I proposed that the best situation for Jordan would be “a grand transfer of power from King Abdullah and his puppet parliament to the citizenry.” This would be a transition to democracy under the hand of monarchy, as opposed to a full-scale, bloody revolution: “The Hashemites have been good friends to the West, and it would not be in our best interest to see them removed from the scene altogether.”
And behold: “King Abdullah II of Jordan sacked his government on Tuesday as he sought to appease street protests and avoid his country becoming the next Egypt or Tunisia.” The Hashemites are wise to heed the demand of the Arab street, and hopefully the sacking of Samir Rifai and “a pledge to embark on an immediate programme of democratic reform” will be more than enough to keep Jordan a stable nation with a Western face.
