Anniversary of Peace Treaty Between Israel and Jordan 
Key Findings from Two National Surveys

On the fifteenth anniversary of peace between Israel and Jordan, a new poll commissioned by The Israel Project (TIP) shows intense Jordanian hostility toward the Jewish state. The poll, face-to-face interviews of 250 Jordanians, was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR) as part of a larger study for TIP that included interviews with 250 Gazans, 250 people in the West Bank and 500 Egyptians.

The poll found that the Jordanian public, comprised largely of Palestinians, is opposed to accepting and engaging Israel. Not a single respondent gives Israel a favorable rating, a level of rejection that GQRR has never seen toward anyone or any entity in its 29-year history as a firm. In Jordan, Israel gets 99 percent very cool ratings (ratings between 0-25 on a scale that ranges from 0 to 100).

Even 15 years after peace was made between Israel and Jordan, Jordanians have not reconciled themselves to the existence or permanence of Israel as a Jewish state. Less than a quarter of respondents in Jordan think Israel has the right to exist, and three-quarters think Israel is “not necessarily here to stay as a permanent Jewish state.” It is not surprising, therefore, to find that most Jordanians also oppose the country’s diplomatic relations with Israel.

Nevertheless, Jordanians are divided over a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians; and they largely agree (50 to 35 percent) that in retrospect, Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat should have accepted President Clinton’s peace proposals at Camp David. That said, a strong majority of Jordanians, 66 percent, believe that peace between the Palestinians and Israel is not likely in the next five years.

While a slight majority believes the Palestinians should negotiate directly with Israel, the Jordanians continue to support terrorism and targeting civilians. In Jordan, three-quarters agree that targeting Israeli civilians or sending suicide bombers is justified to fight the occupation and defend the Palestinians.

And while the Gaza crisis produced support for stopping the rocket attacks among Egyptians and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, Jordanians are an outlier, supporting the continuing use of rocket attacks by a 2-1 margin.

“Jordan has a very large Palestinian population, but they are out of the line of fire in the West Bank and Gaza. On a number of measures, Jordanians are very rejectionist and stand out from their neighbors,” said Stanley Greenberg, Ph.D., the chairman of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.

Said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project, “The data show that most Jordanians get their information on Israel from the Arab media – and the attitudes resulting from what they see are catastrophic. It is critical for Jordan to open up their TV shows to the reality of the many coexistence projects that are enabling Jews and Arabs to work together to create jobs and hope.”

Above are key findings from a nationally representative survey fielded July 8-16, 2009 in Jordan of 257 respondents with a margin of error of +/- 6.1 percent. Click here for more information on data from the poll in Egypt, and click here for more information on data from the poll in Gaza and the West Bank.

Anniversary of Peace Treaty Between Israel and Jordan

Monday (Oct. 26) will mark the fifteenth anniversary of the peace accord between Israel and Jordan. The agreement, signed Oct. 26, 1994 at the Arabah border crossing between the two countries, was Israel’s second peace treaty with an Arab state; Israel signed an earlier peace deal with Egypt in 1979.[1]

The peace treaty settled differences between Jerusalem and Amman over a number of significant issues. Apart from the actual declaration of peace, it finalized the border between the countries; created an agreement over water issues; guaranteed access and respect for mutual holy places; and normalized diplomatic and economic relations.[2]

Relations between Israel and Jordan encompass a number of issues on which there is significant cooperation and collaboration. Trade between the two countries continues to grow, as does the tourism industry. Israel has assisted Jordan with agricultural development; Jordanians have participated in agricultural workshops in Israel; and Israeli experts have visited Jordan. There have also been plans to solve the problem of the decreasing level of the Dead Sea which lies within both Israeli and Jordanian territory.[3]

However, ongoing political problems in the region, specifically between Israel and the Palestinians, add strain to relations between Amman and Jerusalem. Tensions over the peace process, violence emanating from Gaza and concerns over holy sites in Jerusalem present continued challenges to the Israel-Jordan relationship.[4]

Key events in Israel-Jordan history

May 1948-March 1949: The Arab Legion of Transjordan attacks Zionist forces inside Mandate Palestine, invades the West Bank and occupies the territory.[5]

April 1950: King Hussein of Jordan annexes the West Bank.[6]

June 1967: The Jordanian army enters the Six-Day War against Israel and shells western Jerusalem. Israeli forces attack and conquer both eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank.[7]

July 31, 1988: King Hussein of Jordan renounces Jordan’s claim to the West Bank.[8]

Oct. 26, 1994: Israel and Jordan sign a peace treaty.[9]

October 1995: A cooperation agreement is reached to expand economic and social development between the two countries, leading to Jordanian participation in agricultural and health-related courses in Israel.[10]

Jan. 18, 1996: An agreement is sealed on mutual cultural and scientific relations, allowing for Jordanian students to study for advanced degrees in Israeli universities.[11]

Sept. 8, 1999: Jordanian and Israeli tourism ministers meet and discuss increasing tourism cooperation between the two countries.[12]

April 16, 2001: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abed el-Ilah Khatib in Israel.[13]

Aug. 10, 2002: Israel and Jordan launch a joint plan to divert water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea in order to halt the latter's sea level from continuing to decline.[14]

Dec. 2, 2003: Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom meets Jordanian counterpart Marwan Jamil Al-Muasher during the Barcelona Conference in Naples.[15]

December 2003: Israel and Jordan sign an agreement creating a data-monitoring management system in the Gulf of Aqaba.[16]

March 9, 2004: A joint desert science research center is initiated on the Israeli-Jordanian border.[17]

May 16, 2004: Israel and Jordan sign a trade pact allowing for a large number of goods to pass between the two countries, duty-free.[18]

April 30, 2008: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits Amman and meets Jordanian King Abdullah.[19]

May 14, 2009: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with King Abdullah in Jordan.[20] 

Footnotes:

[1] "Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oct. 26, 1994, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israel-Jordan+Peace+Treaty.htm; "Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Israel-Egypt%20Peace%20Treaty, accessed Oct. 15, 2009

[2] "Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oct. 26, 1994, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israel-Jordan+Peace+Treaty.htm  

[3] “Israel-Jordan Relations,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oct. 26, 1998, http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/peace%20process/guide%20to%20the%20peace%20process/israel-jordan%20relations

[4] “A better pipeline,” The Jerusalem Post, June 29, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1245924951355&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull; “Jordan's king warns Israel on Jerusalem 'red line'” AFP, Oct. 17, 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5imoXLcKn-jcC_zPzzbMGHu7VXZ-g

[5] “Israel's War of Independence (1947 - 1949),” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern+History/Israel+wars/Israels+War+of+Independence+-+1947+-+1949.htm, accessed Oct. 20, 2009

[6] Tessler, Mark, A History of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Indiana University Press, 1994, p.276

[7] “Six Day War,” Web site of the Knesset, http://www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/six_days_eng.htm, accessed Oct. 26, 2009

[8] King Hussein of Jordan, “Address to the Nation,” A Living Tribute to the Legacy of King Hussein I Web site, accessed Oct. 22, 2009, http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/88_july31.html

[9] "Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israel-Jordan+Peace+Treaty.htm

[10] "Israel-Jordan Relations, October 26, 1998," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israel-Jordan+Relations.htm

[11] "Israel-Jordan Relations, October 26, 1998," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israel-Jordan+Relations.htm

[12] "Jordan, Israel tourism ministers to meet," Jordan Times, Sept. 8, 1999, http://www.jordanembassyus.org/090899004.htm

[13] "PM Sharon meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 16, 2001, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2001/PM+Sharon+meets+with+Jordanian+Foreign+Minister+-.htm

[14] "Israel and Jordan Launch Global Campaign to Save the Dead Sea," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aug. 10, 2002, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/8/Israel%20and%20Jordan%20Launch%20Global%20Campaign%20to%20Save%20t

[15] "FM Silvan Shalom meets with Jordanian FM Muasher," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 2, 2003, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2003/FM+Silvan+Shalom+meets+with+Jordanian+FM+Muasher+-.htm

[16] "Israel-Jordan Cooperation in the Gulf of Aqaba," Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection, Feb. 12, 2007, http://www.sviva.gov.il/Enviroment/bin/en.jsp?enPage=e_BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=Object&enDispWho=Articals^l4384&enZone=Protecting_the_Gulf

[17] "Israel, Jordan break ground on joint desert science center," USA Today, March 9, 2004, http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-03-09-mideast-science_x.hm

[18] "Jordan and Israel Sign Trade Pact," World Economic Forum, May 16, 2004, http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20Press%20Releases/PRESSRELEASES202

[19] Sofer, Roni, "Olmert in unscheduled visit to Jordan," YnetNews, April 30, 2008, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3537960,00.html

[20] "Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visits Jordan," BBC, May 14, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8049724.stm