Journalist: Anti-Israeli sentiments on rise in Jordan

Jordanians have staged a protest rally in front of the Israeli embassy, forcing its staff to evacuate. There is an interview with Ruba Zeidan, Lecturer and Journalist to share her opinion on this issue. Q:  Can I just ask you how the protest were met by the police and the army in Jordan? Zeidan: Well from what I saw and from what I heard and on the Internet, they were not treated violently but Jordanian forces surrounded the embassy from early morning . There were huge numbers of police cars and lieutenants from here and there but they were not treated violently. They were not welcomed. They were asked to leave home. Some of them were tough with the protestors but nothing major happened. Q: Can I ask you as well how much aid does Jordan get from the US and is the anger on the streets against the Jordanian Royal Family as well as for making pacts and deals with Israel and America? Zeidan:  Of course we get lots of income and lots of money from the US. I do not know the exact number now because the financial budget keeps changing every year and is not announced. What is announced is not actually the truth but of course many US organizations are working here and there in Jordan and this prove things. So yes, we have a lot of aids from the US. But the Royal Family, to be honest, most of the Jordanians, about 90 percent of them, are with the king and the Royal Family. Our problem is not with the Royal Family as much as with some of the policies and the treaties. Like the protestors yesterday they were talking about Wadi Araba and the effect it has done. None of them mentioned the government, I mean the king and they were general terms but I feel the king is really loved here from Jordanians and Jordanians from Palestinian origins. Q: The anger is at Israel. Why is it bubbling up in Jordan now? Is Jordan or the people there including those from the refugee camps mimicking the tactics they see in Egypt? Zeidan: Yes, of course you cannot deny the effect. What happened in 2011 was abnormal. People have changed, views have been changed. We learned from Egypt experience, of course. I mean what happened yesterday on the embassy it was organized by some organizations in Beirut who published a page on the Facebook trying to copy what happened in Egypt. And of course what happened in Syria and in Libya. I mean the atmosphere is changing but why now because all Jordanians are fed up with the continuing criticism of Israel to Jordanian policies and their intervention in our internal policies./129