Jordanians Demand Envoy Be Recalled From Israel, Bring Water

“Our crops will suffer otherwise.”

Amman, January 16 – Popular discontent at a longstanding peace agreement with Israel has residents of the Hashemite kingdom calling for the country’s ambassador to be withdrawn from the Jewish State, hopefully carrying some drinkable water when he makes the trip.

Solidarity with Palestinians and a strong Islamist streak among Jordanians has contributed to growing disfavor with the 1994 treaty establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, to the point that Jordan,  a majority of whose population is ethnically Palestinian, faces constant internal demand that the treaty be abrogated, perhaps in a fashion that addresses the perpetual drought facing Jordan and the fact that Israel provides a significant portion of the country’s potable water.

Hundreds rallied in a downtown square of the capital city Monday to make their demands known. “What is our envoy doing in the wicked Zionist entity?” demanded a speaker. “Bring him back at once, and make sure he has enough water for the rest of us. Our crops will suffer otherwise.”

“We must boycott the Jews,” insisted an attendee who gave his name as Muhammad. “No good can come from their tourism or produce, or from selling them our goods. Trade with them only betrays Palestine! And while we’re at it, let us make sure the joint Israel-Jordan project to replenish the Dead Sea from the Gulf of Aqaba is completed, the employment of thousands of Jordanians in Israeli farms in the Arava Valley and Eilat continues, and that we continue to get all the fresh water Israel has committed to providing each year to help relieve our agricultural distress.”

Support for BDS runs high in Jordan, where the Muslim Brotherhood and its local offshoot Hamas enjoy popular support. Calls for abrogation of the peace treaty occur with some regularity, along with expressions of animosity and violence toward Israel, and with demands that all the benefits Jordan receives from its peaceful relations with Israel continue. Government officials laud security assistance from Israel that provides crucial protection for the stability of King Abdullah’s reign, and in the same breath denounce the Jewish State as a stain on the region that must disappear.

Similar rhetoric flares up with some frequency throughout the Islamic world, notably Egypt where classic antisemitism melds with dependence on revenue from Israeli tourists. At Taba, a resort town on the Red Sea, local vendors spoke in praise of terrorism against Israel and called for its violent destruction, then voiced hope that Israel’s strong and stable economy would continue to guarantee a steady stream of Israeli vacationers.

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