Only if Jews equated to some 80% of the population of the US, as they do in Israel...
Or maybe if they equated to 2/3 of Jordan's population, as the Palestinians do (although ruled by an Hashemite Arab King (Abdullah, who I think is a pretty cool guy).
In fact, Arafat recognizes that Jordan's population is predominantly Palestinian, and sees the potential for his gaining political power in that country by pushing the concept of a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation.
detnews.com
JERUSALEM -- Almost in passing, Yasser Arafat revived an old idea on Friday: a confederation between Jordan and a future Palestinian state. Immediately, he had everyone guessing about his motives.
Was the Palestinian leader testing the wits of Jordan's new leader, King Abdullah? Was he trying to get out of declaring independence on May 4 without losing face?
Whatever the motive, both Jordan and Israel reacted coolly to Arafat's trial balloon, sent up during a routine speech in the West Bank town of Hebron.
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But, in fact (and no matter how much I like King Abdullah of Jordan), there is a justifiable claim by Arafat upon Jordan. Jordan, like many other Arab nations liberated from Turkish rule after WWI (circa Lawrence of Arabia), is an artificial country. And perhaps it is EVEN MORE ARTIFICIAL than Israel, because you have a region of Palestine being ruled by a Saudi Hashemite Arab that doesn't even originate from that area. The original King Abdullah(grandfather of the present one), was given territory that included much of the area east bank of the Jordan river as a favor by the British (upon recommendation of Sir Lawrence), because of their support against the Turks. This is land that should have been granted to the formation of a Palestinian state, not an Arab Kingdom.
The following link is of interest as well:
eretzyisroel.org
The Arabs of that day achieved independent Arab statehood in various lands around Palestine but not within Palestine itself Sovereignty was granted after World War I to the Arabs in Syria and Iraq; in addition, Saudi Arabia consisted of approximately 865,000 square miles of territory that was designated as "purely Arab"5
Considering all the "territories" that had been given to the Arabs, Lord Balfour "hoped" that the "small notch" of Palestine east and west of the Jordan River, which was "being given" to the Jewish people, would not be "grudged" to them by Arab leaders .6
But, in a strategic move, the British Government apparently felt "the need to assuage the Emir's [Abdullah's] feelings."7 As one of the royal sons of the Hejaz (Saudi Arabia), Abdullah was a recipient of British gratitude; the Arabians of the Hejaz had been, among all the Arab world, of singular assistance to England against the Turks8
The insertion of Abdullah and his emirate into mandated Palestine, in the area east of the Jordan River that was part of the land allocated to the "Jewish National Home," might be partially traced to a suggestion received by Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill from T. E. Lawrence. In a letter of January 1921, Lawrence informed Churchill that Emir Feisal (Abdullah's brother, and Lawrence "of Arabia's" choice to lead the Arab revolt)9 had "agreed to abandon all claim of his father to [Western] Palestine," if Feisal got in return Iraq and Eastern Palestine as Arab territories. [See Feisal-Weizmann agreement]
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And Gustave...I'm sure you know full well about the history of King Feisal of Iraq, now don't ya?
Did he deserve to make a claim upon the territory of Iraq?
Hawk |
