A good NY Times piece on “Israel did it” conspiracy theories circulating in Jordan following the bombing. Money quote:
While it appears that most Jordanians have accepted that Mr. Zarqawi was involved – with many saying they are sickened by his actions – there is little criticism for those who scapegoat Israel. A former prime minister, Tahir Masri, who said it was clear that Israel was not involved in this attack, said he understood why so many people blame Israel.
“You have to understand, Baghdad was the capital for Arabs and Muslims for 1,000 years,” Mr. Masri said. “It is occupied by Americans now. Jerusalem and Baghdad are both occupied. It is too much for ordinary people to bear. If you add to it the misery that people are facing because of the lack of democracy and humiliation by their rulers, that kind of scapegoat we have to have.”
Haaretz‘s post-bombing slip-up (read about it here) didn’t help matters. I reacted “viscerally,” a friend rightly said, when I wrote this: “[T]he logical conclusion is that these stories are deliberately planted to inflame Arab, Muslim and world opinion against Israelis and Jews.” The reality is probably harder to pin down. The “Israel did it” stories — and related claims that Israelis had advance knowledge or were not hurt — are so ever-present that they barely need to be “planted.”
One other thing, about Mr. Masri’s reference to Jerusalem and Baghdad being occupied. This immediately calls to mind George Galloway’s recent statements on Syrian TV, where he knowingly stirred up conspiracy-minded resentment:
Two of your beautiful daughters are in the hands of foreigners – Jerusalem and Baghdad. The foreigners are doing to your daughters as they will. The daughters are crying for help, and the Arab world is silent. And some of them are collaborating with the rape of these two beautiful Arab daughters.
Galloway steers well clear of “Israel did it” conspiracy theories, but he panders to the sensibility that enables such theories to flourish. As for those “collaborating with the rape,” one supposes this would include the country of Oman, which just had its Baghdad embassy attacked, probably by Zarqawi’s gunmen. Galloway’s not to blame, of course. But let’s not forget how he winks at such violence.
Oh, and about the Amman bombing: Quite a number of Palestinians were killed, some with direct family ties to the West Bank. If anyone’s aware of a full-throttle condemnation from Galloway, or Arundhati Roy or any others who have voiced support the Iraqi insurgency, please pass the information on.
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