MER FLASHBACK: COLLABORATION ACROSS THE JORDAN
MER - Washington - 2/3/98:
Jordan, under the Hashemite regime originally installed by British imperialism, has
been working closely with the Zionist movement ever since World War II, and subsequently
with the American CIA. For those interested in the detailed history of how this
collaboration began, the excellent book, COLLABORATION ACROSS THE JORDAN by Professor Avi
Schlaim at Oxford University, makes for fascinating reading. It is widely believed, in
fact, that King Hussein tried to give the Israelis secret warning of Arab plans to attack
before the 1973 war, and had been secretly working ever-more closely with the Israelis
personally ever since the 1967 war.
After a period of public caution, including at the time of the Gulf War, the Hashemite
Regime has clearly decided to defy its own people and turn on the Arab world by making its
alliance with Israel and the U.S. de jure rather than de facto. This period began with the
very public signing of the Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty a few years ago, King Hussein's
public visits to Israel, and a major shift in economic and political priorities in recent
years. Last month's Jordanian involvement in the first-ever joint Israeli/Turkish/American
military maneuvers in the region was one more clear indication of Hashemite intentions.
Increasingly close collaboration with senior officials of the Israeli government,
including the Defense Minister and Ariel Sharon, one of the most notorious
anti-Palestinian Israelis, has been escalating in the past two years.
Meanwhile of course the Jordanian secret police, the Muhabarat, have been increasingly
active in undermining and repressing all who oppose these policies in talk or deed. A few
months ago MER published a first-hand description of what is done to university students
who even dared to discuss the possibility of organizing an independent student union --
they were seriously threatened and intimidated and hundreds of heavily armed troops showed
up at the university to prevent any meeting. Subsequently MER was also threatened and
disinformation has been spread about MER.
This is the context in which this very interesting article has been exclusively
published by a small group calling itself the Free Arab Voice. The article is by a
courageous and well-known Jordanian, Laith Shubailatt, who is the President of the Council
of Professional Trade Unions in Amman. IT'S TIME TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE ZIONIFICATION OF
JORDAN by LAITH SHUBAILATT*
After the Jordanian-Israeli joint maneuvers in Aqaba and continualordanian-American-
British joint military exercises with "Israel", the recent decision by Jordanian
authorities to partake in American-Israeli-Turkish maneuvers in the Mediterranean wasn't
really a big surprise.
A careful observer of late and past official Jordanian positions would reasonably
conclude that they have methodically purported to annex Jordan to "Israel" in
the service of Zionist plans, against Arab and Muslim ones.
Understandably joint military exercises occur essentially between states with similar
policies and a compatible military strategy identifying similarly WHO THE ENEMY IS...
Hence many are those official Jordanian positions undermining the country's standing as
an Arab and Muslim state, and handing over its prime real-estate and financial assets as
well as its military, economic, and political resources to "Israel" and the Nato
Alliance. Everything in Jordan now is up for grabs from companies to land. From tourist
services including those which require shedding some of thepeople's dignity, to military
services including those which require shedding some of the country's sovereignty, it's
either For Rent or it's For Sale!!
Yet sovereignty is protected by a military credo which identifies who the enemy is in
accordance with society's sense of what is holy and what is unclean: Jordanians who take
pride in their army refuse to be in the same trenches with Zionists who have never been
and will never be for peace. They refuse to be in the same trenches with the Turkish army
which is occupying Northern Iraq with our implicit approval now. And they refuse to be in
the same trenches with anAmerican Administration which is actively annihilating the Iraqi
people, and transgressing against the Arab nation and Islam.
Some of these official Jordanian positions dragging us towards 'Israel" and Nato,
away from our Arab and Islamic center of gravity are:
1) Adopting misleading Zionist theses such as: i) Islam fosters terrorism ii) Arabism
is chauvinistic iii) the Palestinian National Charter is unjust towards Zionist Jews.
2) Accepting Zionism as a racist creed which discriminates between Jews and Gentiles.
For example, at the same time the Jordanian government relinquished the right of return of
Palestinian refugees, it didn't request the annulment of the Israeli Law of Return which
gives any Jew in the world the right to citizenship in our occupied Palestinian land.
3) Psychologically mobilizing our armed forces against Arab opponents of the alleged
peace and ceasing all such mobilization against Zionists, even the most extreme among
them.
4) At the same time the red flag of Jordanian sovereignty is waved in the face of Arabs
and Muslims on many matters of principle, the government concedes Jordanian sovereignty to
Zionists and others as in the following examples- i) Agreeing to the joint administration
with "Israel" of Aqaba airport in the south of Jordan. ii) Agreeing to the joint
administration with "Israel" of the Jordan Valley. iii) Agreeing to the
construction of an industrial city on Jordanian soil whose exports would be exempt from
American tariffs whether Israelis are partners in joint ventures with Jordanians or
non-Jordanians, but only if Jordanians are partners with Israelis. iv) Allowing the two
Zionist criminals who tried to assassinate Khaled Mashal to leave the country unscathed,
along with the rest of their Mossad support group, in violation of the constitution.
v) Setting a stony silence upon the assassination of the Jordanian diplomat in Tel Aviv
while raising hell over the murder of a Jordanian embassy employee in Iraq, who turned out
later to be the victim of a 'normal' robbery perpetrated by a Jordanian and a Saudi!
vi) Officially approving the principle of Jewish settlement in the East Bank of the
River Jordan, as in Bakura where Israeli laws are currently in effect. Moreover, all
obstacles to total foreign, including Israeli, ownership or control of Jordanian companies
and real-estate are currently being removed. In contrast, in "Israel"today,
Gentiles can't legally buy up land and property!!
vii) Establishing strong military and security links between Jordan,
"Israel", and the U.S. and providing them with military facilities on our soil
as in Azraq military base.
In the process of annexing Jordan to the Nato Alliance, it becomes obvious that the
Jordanian regime has furthermore adopted the Zionist scheme of the 'New Middle East', in
direct violation of the pro-Arab objectives of the Great Arab Revolution which brought the
regime into power.
This necessitates an explanation to the Jordanian people of all the deals the Great
Arab Revolution has ever cut with the Zionist movement if any, and an academic explanation
of the cause of the contradictions between the declared objectives of the Arab Revolution
and the aforementioned practices and official Jordanian positions.
These positions should be condemned by the forces of civil society, by trade unions,
and all concerned citizens.
Let's all stand together in the face of Zionist schemes to devour Jordan.
----------------------------------* Laith Shubailatt is President of the Council of
Professional Trade Unions which includes the Jordanian Associations of: Lawyers,
Engineers, Agricultural Engineers, Accountants, Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses, Dentists,
Veterinarians, Journalists, and the Writers Association. He has been in and out of
Jordanian prisons for opposing and demonstrating against the policies of the Hashemite
Regime, and was once personally pardoned by the late King Hussein who then personally
escorted him from prison.
