[Canadian Jewish News ] Rhonda Spivak - As Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary, it is difficult to find people in Jordan who are willing to utter the word "Israel." For the majority of Jordanians I spoke to, all of the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River is "Palestine," notwithstanding the existence of a 1994 peace agreement between Israel and Jordan. In Amman and its environs, many tourist shops sell coffee mugs with a map of the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Israel proper, with the word "Palestine" on it. The map has the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Netanya marked on it. In the five-star Royal Amman Hotel, Mohammed Alkalq, who is studying hotel management and was raised in Jenin, in the West Bank, said he left Jenin because "there is no tourism in Palestine, because of the war there." When asked who the war is between, he answered, "Between Palestine and the Jews." When asked if he means that there is a war between Palestine and Israel, he refused to use the word "Israel." He answered, "No, between Palestine and the Jews." The relatively few Jordanians I encountered who were willing to use the word "Israel" are not of Palestinian origin.
2008-06-13 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive