[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] "Growing numbers of Jewish tourists provokes Jordanians' anger"

Jordan's Erem News reports that Jordanians in the southern part of the country are increasingly upset that Jews are visiting the country, claiming that they are planting fake archaeological treasures to be dug up to help Israel claim that Jordan is really part of Israel.

Jordanian citizens in the city of Tafilah noticed "alarming movements" by eight Jewish tourists camping for a few days, they claim, in order to carry out digs. This provoked "anger and resentment" from them. Abu Ali Al-Majali shot a few shots in the air, (he claims that he didn't know that the Jewish tourists were there, claiming he was testing his gun.) Afterwards the Jews escaped in three vehicles carrying Jordanian license plates, The Jews left amid "angry shouting" by the citizens of the city, which included the throwing of shoes towards the Jews (considered a very severe form of degradation in the Arab world). Abu Ali Al-Majali was arrested by the police.

The article notes in its last paragraph that the Jewish tourists' "exploratory excursions" in the last 15 years frighten the people in the cities in the southern part of Jordan, especially in the regions between Madaba and Karak and Tafilah. The reason is that "according to the 'Jewish historians', these regions were a part of historic Israel, and so the Jews are not ashamed to consider a part of these regions as belonging to their "alleged state", as the "Jewish Lands Agency" said that "Jordan, from its north to its south and from the Dead Sea" is part of the lands of the Jewish people, and that Petra and the Nebo Mountain in Madaba are holier than many Jewish cities which were conquered by Israel ever since its establishment.

According to the article, despite the peace treaty with Jordan, the website of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's website has maps of the Promised Land showing Jewish cities both on the western bank and the eastern bank of the River (Jordan).

The MFA does have some historic maps of the Jewish kingdoms of David,  the Hashmoneans and Herod which of course did include parts of modern-day Jordan, so these seem to be what is upsetting them. Of course, there is no such thing as "ancient Jordan."

In what may be a reaction to this growing Jew-hatred, Jordan has been enforcing a rule that Israeli Jews cannot tour Jordan without a Jordan-approved tour guide.

Israeli Arabs have no such limitations.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)




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Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 4/23/2014 10:00:00 AM