This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2014 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL KPAL IS JO KHUM
SUBJECT: LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT DEBATES COOPERATION WITH 
ISRAEL ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 03348 
     ¶B. 03 AMMAN 07909 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for Reasons 1.5 (b),(d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (C) The Lower House of Parliament tentatively approved an 
amendment to a human rights law which bans the National 
Center for Human Rights from cooperating with organizations 
belonging to "the Jewish entity and those who support it." 
Islamist MPs overcame an earlier committee defeat of the 
amendment by garnering support on the Lower House floor from 
an influential secular MP who is aspiring to the Speakership. 
 Others backed the amendment from fear of being labeled 
"pro-Israel" or out of dismay over the stalemate on Jordanian 
prisoners in Israeli jails.  The Finance Minister told Charge 
the government expects to have majority support in the Lower 
House to overturn the amendment next week, without recourse 
to the Senate.  Should the amended law pass, however, the 
Senate can be expected to reject it.  This incident 
demonstrates how the Islamists, despite their limited public 
backing and small numbers in Parliament, are still able to 
promote their agenda under the right circumstances.  End 
Summary. 
 
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ISLAMISTS HIJACK HUMAN RIGHTS LAW 
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¶2.  (U) During the first week of the Lower House's 
"extraordinary" session, which convened June 5, MPs began the 
arduous task of deliberating 64 laws specified by royal 
decree -- 42 provisional laws promulgated in the two-year 
absence of Parliament and 22 new laws proposed by the GOJ. 
One of the first items for review was a 2002 provisional law 
establishing the National Center for Human Rights and 
mandating the teaching of human rights principles in the 
educational system.  Prior to open debate in the Lower House, 
the Freedom and Citizens' Rights Committee had reviewed the 
law and proposed a few minor changes to it. 
 
¶3.  (U) When the law reached the Lower House floor, however, 
members of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) strongly pushed for 
two additional amendments.  The first prohibited the Center 
from exchanging information/expertise or otherwise 
cooperating with any human rights organization that belongs 
to "the Jewish entity and those who support it."  The second 
called for human rights education to incorporate a focus on 
Islam's perspective on human rights.  After several lively 
exchanges, the IAF managed on June 9 to muster a majority of 
votes, including those of current MP and former Prime 
Minister Abdur Rawabdeh and his supporters, to approve both 
amendments. 
 
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SHREWD POLITICS 
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¶4.  (C) PolOff met June 15 with MP Jamal Al-Dmour (East 
Banker - Kerak), Chairman of the Freedom and Citizens' Rights 
Committee, to get his readout on events surrounding the human 
rights law.  Dmour explained that he was well acquainted with 
the IAF and its tactics in this matter as he "suffered" from 
having four IAF MPs on his committee.  According to Dmour, 
the IAF was perturbed that the royal decree convening the 
extraordinary session failed to provide for an "unscheduled 
topics" agenda which, during regular sessions, the IAF used 
to grandstand and spark confrontation with other MPs and the 
government over current affairs (see ref a).  Consequently, 
the IAF was now seeking to publicize and promote its agenda 
through amending social legislation. 
 
¶5.  (C) Dmour continued that the IAF had earlier tried but 
failed to get his committee to endorse its two amendments. 
The key to IAF success on the Lower House floor, he opined, 
was due to three things.  First, Rawabdeh's need for Islamist 
votes for his upcoming bid to become Speaker (ref b); 
accordingly, Rawabdeh and his supporters embraced the IAF 
amendments and spoke out in favor of them.  Second, Dmour 
stated that several MPs told him they voted for the 
amendments out of fear of being criticized publicly by 
Islamists and the press as "pro-Israel."  Third, many MPs are 
very upset that there has been no movement on the release of 
Jordanian prisoners in Israel and suspect that they are being 
mistreated given perceived Israeli human rights abuses in the 
West Bank and Gaza. 
 
¶6.  (C) PolOff explained to Dmour how Lower House approval of 
the amendment banning cooperation with Israel was seen 
negatively in Washington and pointed out that the phrase 
"those who support (Israel)" could be interpreted as the 
United States.  Dmour replied he was aware of how this 
amendment could sour Jordan-Israel and Jordan-U.S. relations 
and assured PolOff that the majority of MPs never intended to 
halt cooperation with the U.S. or American NGOs on human 
rights.  Despite the June 9 vote, he and other progressive 
MPs are mounting a campaign to overturn the amendment 
targeting Israel before the entire law is approved by the 
Lower House.  Even should they fail, Dmour was confident that 
the Senate would easily reject the IAF amendment.  Foreign 
Minister Muasher's Office Director, Ali al-Ayad, told 
PolCouns separately June 15 that he was displeased by the 
amendment, but said the GOJ will work to have it reversed. 
The MFA, he stated, has already spoken to other ministries 
and some MPs to explain the negative impact of the language. 
The Finance Minister predicted to Charge that the government 
would gain majority support to drop the negative reference to 
Israel during Lower House debate the week of June 20. 
 
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STILL IN PLAY 
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¶7.  (C) The Lower House continued deliberations on the human 
rights law June 16 with several MPs speaking out firmly 
against the Islamist amendment on Israel.  MP Ghlaeb Zu'bi 
(East Banker - Balqa) said, for example, that while he 
deplored "ugly" Israeli practices in the West Bank/Gaza, the 
amendment was inconsistent with Jordanian law and wholly 
inappropriate as "human rights are universal concepts that go 
beyond race, religion and nationality."  Minister for 
Political Development & Political Affairs Mohammad Daoudieh 
told MPs that the amendment "harms Jordan's image abroad" and 
had already resulted in charges that Jordan was anti-Semitic. 
 Still unsure if there were enough votes to undo the IAF 
amendment, Dmour exercised his right as relevant committee 
chairman to postpone a final vote on the entire law as 
amended until a later date.  Several IAF MPs walked out in 
protest at the move. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8.  (C) The flap over the human rights law demonstrates how 
the IAF can promote its anti-normalization agenda in the 
Lower House.  By exploiting Rawabdeh's need for IAF support 
in the Speaker's race, and tapping into anti-Israel sentiment 
in the Jordanian street, the Islamists caught the government 
off guard and persuaded a majority of MPs to approve language 
that they might otherwise eschew under different 
circumstances.  The controversial amendments, if ultimately 
approved by the Lower House, can be expected to be soundly 
rejected by the Senate. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET 
home page. 
HALE