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Jordan, Jews and Terrorists Steve Malzberg
– Queen Noor of Jordan, in her book "Leap of Faith" (2003) I believe the above quote presents a very sanitized version of how the good citizens of Jordan feel about the Jews and the state of Israel.
When Queen Noor refers to PLO chief Yasser Arafat and his merry band of murderers [who Noor's late husband, King Hussein, expelled from Jordan because they attempted to take over the country] as "Palestinian resistance fighters" in the book, you get a good idea of just how the same good citizens of Jordan view terrorists.
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Or should I say terrorists who kill Jews. After the recent suicide attacks that killed 57 people and wounded 118 others in Amman, we know that they don't like terrorists who kill people in Jordan. Appearing on ABC's "This Week" last Sunday, the wife of King Abdullah, the current King of Jordan, Queen Rania proved that she is a worthy successor to Queen Noor. Rania was on to address the bombings that ravaged her homeland on November 9. She was asked if she was surprised by the fact that a female homicide bomber had been apprehended in Jordan. Her bomb belt failed to explode and she ran from the scene along with the others fleeing the chaotic scene of the explosions. Why should the appearance of a female homicide bomber surprise anyone? It's been happening more and more against Israel. In October of 2003 Hanadi Jaradat, a 29-year-old Palestinian female lawyer from Jenin, blew herself up along with 20 Israelis while wounding scores more in a packed restaurant. "Nothing really surprises me. What does surprise me is the nature of these acts. The fact that they can walk into a wedding and target innocent civilians celebrating, killing women, children and innocent families ... the fact that they are able to commit such atrocities is what shocks me."
My first reaction was to question the sincerity of the queen. How on earth can she live next to Israel and pretend to be surprised that terrorists would strike at women and children at a family celebration? Hasn't she seen that behavior repeatedly carried out against Jewish women and children? Where was she in March of 2002 when 30 Israelis were slaughtered and 140 wounded at the Park Hotel in Netanya at the "Passover Massacre"?
Where was the queen in January of that same year when a Palestinian gunman entered a packed hall in the town of Hadera during a bat-mitzvah celebration? Using an M-16, the thug mowed down six and wounded more than 30. I could go on and on and on. When Queen Rania was asked about a poll that showed support for suicide bombings and Osama bin Laden among the Jordanian people, she left little doubt about how she really feels. "I believe that our people have always been convinced that terrorism is not the right way," the queen said. And then she made a distinction between two kinds of terror: One is bad and one is understandable; one kills innocent Jordanians and one kills innocent Jews. "These bombs were not against Jordan, they were not against Jordanian policy. They were against people, ordinary people were taken. These were hard-working, innocent people enjoying a night out celebrating a wedding. So we have to make it clear that this is not the targeting of a country or a policy."
I'm not sure that Al Zarqawi would endorse that analysis, but even if she's correct, what is she getting at here? Here's your answer: "As you know, we on our borders, there are two countries that are occupied. (I assume she means Iraq and Israel, although she did not name them.) And I believe that the Jordanian people feel that whenever a country is occupied, the people have a right to gain their freedom."
Even though she went on to say that she's sure her people don't believe in the taking of innocent life in pursuit of that goal, her point was already made. When King Abdullah was asked by Tim Russert about a Pew Research Center poll conducted in May of this year, on "Meet the Press," also last Sunday, he nearly choked on his answer. Russert pointed out that 87 percent of Jordanians said NO when asked if Islamic extremism was a threat to Jordan. Sixty percent said YES when asked if Osama bin Laden would make a good head of state, up from 55 percent in 2003. And, oh yes, 57 percent of Jordanians supported suicide bombings in this poll. The king replied that there are plenty of other polls done by the West that show the complete opposite results, although he failed to name one. He then pointed to the recent protests in the streets of his country against the alleged mastermind of the bombings, Al Zarqawi, as proof of his claim that the poll isn't accurate. Another example of a people who don't mind it when it's other innocent people being blown up, but get their collective noses out of joint when it hits home [not all Jordanians, of course – just the majority, according to the Pew poll]. One more bit of hypocrisy out of Abdullah's kingdom is the sanctuary he has provided to a half-dozen groups that hold conferences and coordinate a propaganda campaign against the elected government in Baghdad. This according to Iranian author and New York Post columnist Amir Taheri.
He says that Amman has become home to the Iraqi Ba'athist nomenclature, including Saddam Hussein's several wives and daughters. Furthermore, Taheri says that after Iraq's liberation Jordan became a refuge for Ba'athist criminals and their families, who brought with them some $500 million that Saddam's vice president reportedly stole from the Central Bank in Baghdad. "Jews ... achieved influence and power at the highest levels. ... Confronting the power of the Zionist lobby for the first time was sobering ... AIPAC's supporters were CEOs of large American corporations and representatives of the top levels of media and entertainment businesses, financial institutions, legal and medical professions, and increasingly, the highest reaches of government."
– Queen Noor, in "Leap of Faith"
Please e-mail Steve Malzberg by going to his Web site at www.malzbergtalk.com You can sign up for his free e-mail alerts by going to www.newsmax.com/malzberg
Editor's note:
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