Weekly Commentary: Should Jordan's King Get A Free Pass When He Slams Israel?
Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 18 March 2010
Why should Jordan's King Abdullah II get a free pass when he slams Israel
with criticism that grossly misrepresents the situation in Jerusalem?
"Jerusalem is a red line and the world should not be silent about Israel's
attempts to get rid of Jerusalem's Arabs residents, Muslims or Christians,"
the king told visiting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton this week,
claiming that Israel seeks to "change Jerusalem's identity and threaten holy
sites there."
King Abdullah knows damn well that this is baloney.
Israel isn't clearing out Arabs from Jerusalem. If anything, Arabs from the
West Bank are trying to move into Jerusalem in the hopes that they will be
able to remain in territory under Israeli control if and when a Palestinian
state is formed.
Jordan knows that Israel doesn't threaten the holy sites of Islam or
Christianity.
In point of fact, King Abdullah knows that crowd capacity of the Temple
Mount for Moslem prayer was dramatically increased under Israeli rule with
the huge expanded underground Marawani Mosque in Solomon's Stables.
The Jewish element of Jerusalem's identity pre-dates and transcends Islam.
But Israel doesn't deny the history of others in Jerusalem. In fact, the
Department of Antiquities celebrates ancient Christian and Moslem
discoveries just as it does when Jewish artifacts from the past are
unearthed.
Does King Abdullah feel compelled to join in the lies against Israel in
order to maintain his standing?
Or does the lack of any backlash for this behavior make the decision to slam
Israel a foregone conclusion.
If the roles were reversed no doubt Israel's ambassador in Amman would find
himself being called in for a lecture and rebuke for the record.
Perhaps the time has come to hold Jordan to the same standards of fairness
and honestly that it expects from us.
Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
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