Jordan’s Threat to the Middle Eastern Order

The kingdom has made a tradition of inciting unrest with Israel during the holy month of Ramadan.

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King Abdullah IIat the royal Al-Husseiniya Palace in Amman on December 21, 2022, as Jordan hosts a Middle East summit. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)

The month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan ends today, and the Middle East appears to have narrowly averted a war. Just days ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran threatened to wipe the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv off the map. This came in wake of statements by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei touting his coordination of terrorist groups that recently attacked Israel. Iran-backed violence was reported this month in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Amid these heightened tensions, the United States dispatched the USS Florida nuclear submarine, equipped with more than 150 tomahawk missiles, to deter Iran from further provocation. Pragmatic Arab states like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were working overtime to defuse tensions. 

One American ally, however, appeared content to fan the flames: the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II two weeks ago called upon “every Muslim to deter Israeli escalation against… holy sites in Jerusalem.” The following night, Palestinian youth barricaded themselves in the Al-Aqsa mosque, then shot fireworks at Israeli police attempting to clear the compound.

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  1. Avatar photo
    BC Powers

    Having spent a lot of time in Jordan, I certainly do not see Jordan's response as cynically as these authors do. Jordan has always been between a rock and a hard place, teetering between stability and chaos. As the authors point out, Jordan has a lot of Palestinians within their borders. The Palestinians in Jordan live among, interact, and form family bonds with the Jordanians. And every day they live the lives of people exiled from their homes and they are angry, poor, and have few if any good economic options. The sure way for the king to lose his head is to alienate such a large segment of the population. So it's not that Jordan is taking the side of Hamas or its patron. It's trying to stay afloat in best way it can.

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  2. Michael.Terrien

    Wow. We just left Jordan after a week there during Ramadan. Maybe it's just that they like the almighty dollar, but we were welcomed at every turn, loved the country, always felt 100% safe, and were repeatedly asked to encourage Americans to visit and told how Jordanians just want to live in peace with people of every religion. You will not shake my positive impression of this surprisingly advanced and friendly country.

    By the way, if you've ever been to the Al-Aqsa mosque, you would see that it's always going to be a place of tension. You could not place a sacred site of one monotheistic religion literally on top of a sacred site of another anywhere in the world and fail to generate tension.

    Edit: Let me add that we are a gay couple who shared single bed hotel rooms and traveled and dined openly and publicly together. We spent part of the trip with a whole group of openly gay, exclusively male, travelers (almost all couples like us), sightseeing, going out and generally being ourselves with no hint of a problem. I would happily settle for the rest of the middle east being as big a problem as Jordan.

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  3. Avatar photo
    Abdullah Özek

    Hello everyone, I am Abdullah
    I have already committed myself to a mission for overtaking the control of the Dome of the Rock and the Masjeed Al-Aqsa from Jordanian and Palestinian Foundation. I made a video on it it is in YouTube in my name. I want to emphasise here that their foundation is of a secular nature like their political and economical and militarily affairs and not based on the religious guidance of Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. Furthermore the Glorious Qur'an states that those who ascribe partners to Allah in worship should not maintain the Mosques of Allah but only True Muslims who believe and fear Allah and believe in the Last Day should be their ( Mosques) guardians. Those who bring other Gods along with Allah in worship are called as ' Mushrikoon ' in the Arabic Qur'an. Because secularism reject the ruling of the Qur'an and govern with alternative laws they can be categorized as Mushrikoon once it is known that they are secular. So I am trying to make people understand this fact and I am trying to find support for this cause to establish religious peace and security in the region. Thereafter I am hopeful that our Lord will open a way for us to be inclusive of the judea- christianity and the quality of mercy as a way of life while educating people once the mission is accomplished ( inshaAllah).

    In my opinion the Turkish- Kurdish conflict is also a reason for a secular cause of Turkey as they officially do not recognise the Kurds as a nation and their ethnic identity and have been consistently assimilating the Kurds in Turkey. In the Glorious Qur'an ' Allah created the nations and the Tribes in order that you may recognize and know each other ' is a proof and guidance for Turkey to recognize the Kurds as a nation officially. Who knows that may open a way for the Palestinians and alike to recognize Israel. The Qur'an already has given guidance to us for the return of the Israelites to the Holy Land. 17 : 104
    I look forward to any goodness that may come from your end for support. Thank you.

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  4. Avatar photo
    David Eggleston

    We keep shafting Jordan, which was one of our closest allies (which seems to be the American MO, honestly), so I don’t blame Abdullah for working with Iran during Ramadan, when his Palestinian refugees are restless, or Russia because we won’t help stabilize his border with Syria. If we don’t want to be the “world’s policeman,” then we better darn well be prepared for someone else to fill the vacuum.

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  5. Bigdonmck

    The Middle East has been armpit of the planet for decades. It's been a mess since oil became so valuable. Always has been a mess and probably will be for quite a while.
    What would be the cost to America if we simply picked up and left? Let someone else step in and takeover the mess.
    We give Jordan $1.5B annually and at least double that amount to Israel. And Jordan won't cough up a terrorist we want to get out hands on?
    And these two countries are among our MOST valuable allies in the Middle East? I don't believe these two circus performers are in our VITAL interests any longer. They may be vital interests to many of our allies. Let our allies take over.
    We are playing in the wrong sand box. But, I could be wrong. This is just a comment. That's all.

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  6. Dougrhon

    King Abdullah is garbage.

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    Evanrkaiser

    Ramadan-associated violence directed against Israel has become an annual disturbing affair. I was unaware of Jordan's role — thx for pointing it out. I also didn't know about the Kingdom's turning up its nose at the Abraham Accords and their spin-off processes. These dynamics are important to understand.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Dennis

      Agreed. But even more disturbing to me was this: “And every year, Jordan sides with Hamas—and perhaps even its patron, Iran.” Siding with a terrorist organization and with the largest state sponsor of terrorism would certainly explain boycotting celebration of the Abraham Accords. We’re used to tolerating double standards when maintaining essential ties is at stake; but I hope Jordan is under constant diplomatic pressure to curb its appeasement of the Palestinians.

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      1. Avatar photo
        David Eggleston

        Well, if Abdullah rightly concludes that the Abraham Accords are our Irish goodbye from the Middle East, I don’t blame him for cozying up to Iran during Ramadan, when his Palestinian refugee camps are restless, or Russia when we leave his border with Syria hanging. Jordan’s always been in a precarious position, and this is the price of our decade and a half retreat from the world.

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  8. 24601

    I appreciate the Dispatch immensely for bringing light to different topics but this article raised more questions than answers. The first two paragraphs present that Iran is the main threat and suddenly swerves to... Jordan not verbally backing Israel? As if Jordan's words would stop the violence and end Iran's hegemony?

    This clearly pro-Israel piece did not convince me much of anything, mainly because it does not illustrate how Jordan is supposed to be different and respond differently than any other Middle Eastern nation.

    2 out of 5 stars - would not recommend

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    1. Ura Rodny

      I see nothing wrong with a pro-Israel piece. Especially when it is correct and our direct interest. The Dispatch here breaks here semi-taboo in the media (except WSJ) to publicly support Israel. Not bad at all.

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    2. Dougrhon

      Every other mid east nation is not inciting it's population by making up lies about Israel and access to the Dome of the Rock. The King should be working to educate his population but to save his ass from possible overthrow he scapegoats Israel. It's been like this for a half century.

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