Antisemitic Remarks by Jordanian MPs during Debate of Kerry's Initiative

During a February 3, 2014 Jordanian parliamentary debate on U.S. Secretary of State Kerry's peace efforts, MPs made various antisemitic comments, drawing upon Christian and Islamic textual sources. Following are excerpts, from the Al-Jazeera network and from the Internet:

MP Mousa Abu Sweilam: I would like to tell everybody that the Palestinian cause is an Islamic issue of the first degree. It is of concern to Muslims from Japan, America, and Britain, as well as to Palestinian Muslims, and Muslims from any country on the face of the Earth.

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Let me emphasize that as a Muslim, I have no problem with Judaism as a religion, or with any Jew living in Jordan, Iraq, or Syria. My problem is with the Jews who came to Palestine, occupied it, and drove out its people.

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MP Tareq Al-Khouri: Brothers, allow me to conclude with a verse from the New Testament, in response to what Sheik [Abu Sweilam] said. My problem with the Jews is a religious problem.

In John 8:44, Christ addresses the Jews and says: "You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth" – in other words, the peace accords are nonsense – "because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Thank you.

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MP Muhammad Al-Badri: If you recall, in 1922, George Bush Sr. equated Islam with terrorism, and then said that it was a slip of the tongue. In 2003, George Bush Jr., prior to his invasion of Iraq, said that it was a "Crusader war." Then he said that it was a slip of the tongue.

Our dispute with the Jews is one of faith. History has not changed this – it is written in the New Testament, as my colleague Tareq Al-Khouri said, and it is also written in the Koran. There is a dispute of faith between Judaism, on the one hand, and Islam and Christianity on the other. Therefore, no solutions will be achieved here – neither by John Kerry, nor by anybody else.

As I have said, the dispute is a dispute of faith. Moreover, there will be no true democracies in Arab countries, and you can se what is going on around Israel. No true democracy is permitted in any country bordering with Israel, because an Arab democracy would run counter to the interests of Israel. A true democracy serves the peoples' interests, and the interests of the Arab peoples run counter to the interests of Israel.

I call, from this podium, to strengthen the Jordanian domestic front, in order to prevent the Jews, the Zionists, and the Americans from meddling with the Palestinian cause.

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MP Zakaria Al-Sheikh: Allah says in the Koran: "Fight them. Allah will torment them at your hands, and will bring them to disgrace, and assist you against them, and will heal the hearts of a believing people, and will remove the rage within their hearts. Allah accepts the repentance of whom He wills. Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise. Do you that you shall be left alone, while Allah has not yet tested those of you who have fought, and have taken none as friends and protectors, but Allah, His Messenger, and the believers? Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do."

In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, the Prophet Muhammad said: "Judgment Day will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims will kill them.” In another version, it says: "You will fight the Jews – you to the east of the river and they to the west of it." One of the Prophet's companions asked him: Which river? He replied: The Jordan River.

Historical Palestine is the occupied Islamic, Arab, Palestinian land, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. It contains Islamic and Christian sites, and nobody has the right to relinquish a single inch of it.

The Palestinians are the original owners of Palestine, who lived on its land when they moved from the western Mediterranean Basin to its east, in 7000 BCE. The Israelites have existed as a nation only since 1800 BCE, with the birth of Jacob, who is also called Israel. Moreover, Judaism as a religion emerged only in 1300 BCE.

Thus, the Palestinians are the original owners of the land of Palestine. Any solution must include the return of every inch of historical Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, must guarantee unconditional Right of Return for Palestinians worldwide, and must provide just financial and international compensation.

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