+++ JORDANIAN ANTI-SEMITISM
Dr. Joseph Lerner, co-director IMRA

The Jerusalem Post 18 Jan. '06 story "Religious Israelis banned from
Jordan" , which follows, tells of eight Israelis turned away from Jordan
when tefilen and prayer shawls were found in their bags. The Haaretz
Reuters 19 Jan.'06 story ""Israel says Jordan refuses entry to religious
Jews",which also follows, reports:"The primary issue raised by the
Jordanians is that someone who is obviously Jewish or Israeli is a likely
target for terrorists". The issue is not individuals with side curls,
beards or black garb but to "someone who is obviously Jewish or Israeli".

Why should Jews, Israeli or not, be subject to terrorist attack in
Jordan? In a poll conducted in Jordan May 3-24, '05 by Pew Global Attitudes
Survey 100% said they had unfavorable attitudes towards Jews. This was
expressly Jews, not Israelis.

Jordan has a long and deep history of anti-Semitic education. "The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion" held a prominent place in Jordanian
textbooks even during Jordan's occupation of eastern Jerusalem as it still
does, and for which it is not criticized.. Under the Oslo accords the
Palestinian Authority was permitted to establish schools in the West Bank.
The PA adopted the notorious Jordanian textbooks.

The late King Hussein campaigned vigorously against Soviet Jews coming
to Israel. Jordan's professional associations prohibit their members any
'normalization' with Israelis on threat of losing
their right to work.. The 18 Jan.'05 Jordan Times article "King urges
Christian leaders to stand together to protect Jerusalem"(which also
follows) exemplifies another aspect of Jordanians ongoing actions, even
under direct Royal auspices, bolstering anti-Semitism. High level Christian
clerics are urged to join together to protect Jerusalem from the
depopulation and elimination of Christian Arabs. By whom? Actually, the
Arab population of Jerusalem has been increasing.more rapidly than the
Jewish.

Typically, Jordan's antagonism is ignored by important visitors. Routinely,
Jordan is praised as is reported in the Jordan Times story: "the president
of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops praised King Abdullah's peace
efforts and his persistent endeavors to launch and support dialogue between
the followers of the three monotheistic religions." To the contrary,
Jordanian interfaith dialogue has, with very rare exception, excluded Jews.
Prince Hassan's related undertakings show no exception to this.

This shouldn't be surprising. US and European Jewish organizations
invited to meet with King Abdullah routinely praise him ignoring Jordanian
anti-Semitism and warmly welcome him when he is abroad.

Yes, Jordan cooperates with Israel in security matters and has a peace
agreement with Israel but these factors don't preclude a deep, pervasive
anti-Semitism which makes it dangerous for Jews to visit Jordan and
contributes to regional instability.

Clearly, the Hashemite rulers promote anti-Semitism. Why they do, does
not really matter.

+++JERUSALEM POST18 Jan.'06
'Religious' Israelis banned from Jordan
By HERB KEINON AND JPOST STAFF

EXCERPTS:

. . . Eight Israelis who wanted to go scuba-diving in Aqaba were turned
away at the border because Jordanian customs officials found tefilin and
tallitot (prayer shawl) in their bags.
One of the tourists, Yoram Cohen, told Army Radio Wednesday that once the
Jordanian border officials realized that they were religious they were
banned entry.
"During the border check the Jordanians found tefilin in our bags. When they
asked what it was, we said we were religious," said Cohen.
"At that moment they said 'ok, go home.'
"On the Israeli side we were informed that they don't let religious people
through," he said.
While an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman could not confirm the details of
that particular report, he did say that Israel has been "holding a dialogue"
with the Jordanians about this overall issue.
According to the official, the Jordanians maintain that people who look
obviously Jewish or Israeli are targets for terrorists. The official said
that although Israel understands the Jordanian security concerns, the
symbolism of turning away someone because of a beard, side-curls, kippa or
black-garb is "problematic." He said there have been reports of haredim who
have not been allowed into Jordan.. . .

+++JORDAN TIMES 18 Jan.'06:"King urges Christian leaders to stand together
to protect Jerusalem"
EXCERPTS:
AMMAN (JT) - His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday called for a unified
stance between churches in the Holy Land and their Western counterparts in
order to face up to the challenges facing Jerusalem and its Christian Arab
residents.
At a meeting with a delegation representing Christian religious leaders from
Europe and the US, the King urged the churches to meet regularly to assess
ways to protect Jerusalem and its Christian Arab citizens, warning against
attempts to depopulate the Holy City of its residents and strip away its
identity.
Over 50 Catholic bishops and other church leaders from North America and
Europe are currently in the region on a solidarity mission with Christians
in the Holy Land.
The senior clergymen, who represent a bishops' council that coordinates the
affairs of Catholic churches in Europe and the US, arrived in Amman
yesterday from Palestine where they engaged in several activities related to
their mission.
King Abdullah acquainted the religious leaders with Jordan's efforts to
promote religious tolerance and coexistence, citing the Amman Message, which
Jordan released in 2004 in an effort to spell out the true spirit of Islam.
Bishop William Skylstad, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops,
praised King Abdullah's peace efforts and his persistent endeavours to
launch and support dialogue between the followers of the three monotheistic
religions.
He also commended Jordan's Constitution, which guarantees religious freedoms
in the Kingdom.
Skylstad renewed the council's commitment to support churches in Jordan and
the Holy Land and its efforts to promote peace and understanding among the
faithful from the three religions.
Also Tuesday, the bishops visited Christian holy sites in the Kingdom.
The bishops were also scheduled to meet yesterday with key local Christian
figures for a briefing on the history of Jordanian Christians' contribution
to the political, cultural and economic life of the country.

+++HAARETZ 19 Jan.'06:

"Israel says Jordan refused entry to religious Jews"

By Reuters
Jordan has blocked several Orthodox Israeli Jews from entering the country
for fear their religious garb would make them a target of attacks there, an
Israeli government source said yesterday.

"The primary issue raised by the Jordanians is that someone who is obviously
Jewish or Israeli is a likely target for terrorists," the source said, on
condition of anonymity.
. . .
In August, Israel issued a travel warning to all its citizens not to visit
Jordan based on "concrete" security warnings of possible attacks by
terrorists groups. The advisory does not bar Israelis from Jordan, but
states that travel there is subject to their individual judgment and
responsibility.

"The Jordanians have raised serious concerns as to safety, and we are
continuing a dialogue with them," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark
Regev.. . .

Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA