Two days ago, King Abdullah II of Jordan met with a group of academics in his country, telling them, If I were Israeli, I would be very concerned today. The futures of Jordan and Palestine are clearer and stronger than the future of Israel. In the very same breath, he emphasized that Jordan would not be a substitute homeland for the Palestinians and that the Jordanian army was strong and would protect its homeland. Despite the harsh impression his sentiments may have left, the king's surprising threat was not directed at us; instead he was sending a message to opposition forces bubbling up in Jordan itself. In recent years, King Abdullah II has adopted a regular habit: Every time he wants his voice to be heard, he attacks Israel. This time, however, he chose to send a message to the Palestinians in Jordan, warning them not to mistakenly believe they could spark riots in Jordan. He hinted at this when he talked about his strong army safeguarding the homeland. Israel, as usual, was just an artificial excuse to show off his guns. Israel is the glue that unites people against a common dislike. In his harsh criticisms against Israel, Abdullah sought to rally his people around their leadership, who are the main supporters of his kingdom. The truth is that if I were King Abdullah today, I would be hysterical. Jordanians who in the past were ready to die for his father are not rising up to defend him. They allow themselves to do things that would have been unthinkable in the past. Last February, the heads of a number of tribes in Jordan sent the king a letter requesting, of all things, that he rein in his wife. According to the codes of the Middle East, that crosses every red line. The average man in Jordan, Egypt or Saudi Arabia knows that if he were to tell his friend to restrain his wife, it would elicit a strong and violent response. Another humiliating moment for the Jordanian king came in December 2010 at a local league soccer game, when riled fans called for him to get a divorce. Both cases were shameful because the king and his wife failed to understand in time the resentment aroused by their extravagant and extroverted behavior, especially when their subjects are suffering from excessive poverty. The fact that Queen Rania flaunts her Palestinian origins, and that her office is active in trying to obtain Jordanian citizenship for Palestinians living in Jordan, does not make her popular among Jordan's elite. The latter is the echelon of society from which Abdullah is meant to draw most of his strength. But these are the internal problems for the king. We are not sitting with him in the soccer stadium in Amman and there is no point in flaying him, even if he clearly and banally uses Israel as a scapegoat. We don't need to panic or get infected by the Apocalypse Now syndrome that tends to take hold of us any time an Arab or Muslim leader decides to unleash a tirade against Israel, even if the trend spreads. The Jordanian kingdom is still a moderate neighbor. Israel needs to preserve its connection with Jordan, though probably not too publicly so as not to incite the Jordanian opposition to attack its government. But Adbullah's warning to his people, and the extent to which it testifies to the resilience of his regime, should also serve as a warning call to Israel. The king is under pressure and in distress. Days of instability are also likely to pass over our neighbors to the east. We must not fan the flames with reckless conduct on our part; we must also remember that we did not ignite the fire, nor do we control it. At this point, all we can do is sit by and watch intently.
