OPINION
CONTENTS
Jordan-ls-Palestine
Argument Is Invalid
MITCHELL BARD
T
here are historical
facts and there are po-
litical realities. The
two are sometimes confused,
as in the case of friends of
Israel who respond to Palesti-
nian demands for a state by
asserting that they already
have one called Jordan. This
argument is politically irrele-
vant; worse yet, its implica-
tions are potentially
disastrous for Israel. It should
be discarded.
It is a historical fact that
Jordan was a part of Palestine
until it was partitioned by the
British in 1921. It is also true
that the majority of the
population in Jordan today is
Palestinian and that both the
Palestinians (including the
PLO) and King Hussein have
admitted that • Jordan is
Palestine in numerous
statements.
That having been said,
however, the political reality
Consider the
threat that would
be posed by a
Palestinian state
in Jordan.
OP—
is that the Palestinians out-
side Jordan are unwilling to
accept that territory as a
substitute for the homeland
they believe they are entitled
to on the West Bank; that is,
everything west of the Jordan
River, including Israel.
If one takes the PLO at its
word, it is clear that the
Palestinians' objective is to
establish a state in Judea,
Samaria, and Gaza, then
"liberate" the remaining "oc-
cupied territories," first those
to the west, then those to the
east. The people who argue
that Jordan is Palestine are
usually the first to point out
the PLO's program, yet, con-
tradictorily, insist that the
Palestinians should be con-
tent with "the state" they
already have.
In addition, though Hus-
sein has acknowledged that
Jordan is Palestine, he has
never made a statement that
could be construed as accep-
tance of the notion that Jor-
dan is a Palestinian state. It
is a Hashemite Kingdom and
Hussein is not about to ab-
dicate to satisfy the national
aspirations of the
Palestinians.
There is a more serious ob-
jection, however, to the use of
the Jordan-is-Palestine argu-
ment. Perhaps the proponents
of this view are so sure that
the Palestinians will never ac-
cept it that they have never
considered the implications if
Jordan became a Palestinian
state. Let me suggest a few.
It is ironic that the pro-
ponents of this argument are
people who are the most vehe-
ment opponents of a Palesti-
nian state on the West Bank
and harbor the greatest fear
of the PLO. Consider,
however, the threat that
would be posed by a Palesti-
nian state in Jordan:
We know that the Palesti-
nians would not be content to
live under Hussein's rule;
therefore, the likelihood
would be the PLO state
Israel's friends fear would be
established in Jordan rather
than the West Bank. Instead
of a small, militarily weak
and economically unviable
state wedged between the
powerful Israeli and Jorda-
nian armies, the new Palesti-
nian state would be the size
of Jordan with a population
equal to Israel's. Such a state
would have all the resources
of present day Jordan at its
disposal and it would be far
more difficult for Israel to
constrain that state's capaci-
ty to build up its military
forces. After all, Israel can do
little now to prevent Hussein
from building up his forces.
King Hussein may not have
signed a peace treaty with
Israel, but the truth is he has
accepted Israel's existence.
Hussein made a mistake in
1967 which he paid for, but he
has showed no sign of
repeating his error. In other
words, Israel has de facto
peace with Jordan.
Moreover, - Hussein's
"moderation" serves as a
brake against the aggressive
regime of Hafez Assad in-
Syria. If the PLO takes over,
the unofficial "peace" bet-
ween Israel and Jordan would
end and the Syrians would
have a new ally in their plan
for Israel's destruction.
To some extent I have laid
out the worst-case scenario,
but that is what Israel's
friends normally do in every
other instance. For some
reason, they have failed to do
so when it comes to the sug-
gestion that the Palestinians
establish a state in Jordan.
The Jordan-is-Palestine
argument is good for scoring
points in historical debates,
but it is of no use to anyone
interested in a solution to the
Arab-Israeli conflict that will
insure Israel's security. 111
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Tonight's broadcast of Mary Martin's
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March 24, 1989
6:31 p.m.
Sabbath ends March 25 7:36 p.m.
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