User:Victor falk/Segregation in Jordan

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Segregation in Jordan ...

Contents

[edit] Treatment of Palestinians

Palestinians residing in Jordan suffer discrimination in appointments to positions in the Government and the military, in admittance to public universities, and in the granting of university scholarships.[1] Their career options are mainly limited to the private sector and they have no access to the decision making circles and state institutions. This was due to the "Jordanization policy" implemented in the 1970s which favoured Transjordanian recruitment in the public sector, forcing Palestinians who originated from the West Bank to seek employment and livelihood in the private sector.[2] Most Jordanians of Gazan origin who arrived in Jordan after 1967 are not entitled to citizenship and are issued 2-year passports valid for travel only.

[edit] Treatment of Iraqi Refugees

Main article: Refugees of Iraq

At least 500,000 Iraqis live in Jordan, most having fled the turmoil in their country caused by the Iraq War. Although the government has generally been tolerant towards Iraqis, the price of this tolerance has been to ignore their presence. Last year, the government first announced that foreign children without residence permits could not attend public schools, then reversed its policy at the last minute. The only Iraqis eligible for Jordanian residency permits are those who qualify according to normal immigration criteria, such as investors or people who have sought-after skills.[3] Consequently, most Iraqis in Jordan live a life at the margin of society, without proper legal status, unable to work legally, and unable to access subsidized social services such as education, health care, and housing.

Some Iraqi men also face discrimination. A Shi`a woman from Najaf said Jordanian authorities deported her husband after detaining him for working without a permit:

"My husband has a college degree in agriculture, but he worked in construction illegally. He did day labor. It was very difficult because the income was irregular. Sometimes, after the work was finished, they just told him to go and [did] not pay him, since he can’t go to the police"[4]

A Shi`a artist and interior designer from Baghdad who has refugee status with UNHCR but no residency permit in Jordan, and who has been waiting for years to be resettled abroad, said:

"I work individually, not for a firm. I get exploited because if I were a Jordanian I could charge much more for my work. As a refugee, I often do not get paid or just receive a token amount. I don’t care so much about the money. I just want to be resettled elsewhere because my situation here is bad. I am not in charge of my own life"[5]

[edit] Treatment of unrecognized religious groups

There is official and societal discrimination against adherents of unrecognized religions, which included the Druze or members of the Baha'i faith. The Government does not permit Baha'is to register schools or places of worship and they are classified as Muslims on official documents.[1]

[edit] Banning sale of land to Jews and Israelis

In 1973, under the direct instructions of King Hussein, the government of Jordan passed the 'Law for Preventing the Sale of Immoveable Property to the Enemy' — with the "enemy" defined as "any man or judicial body of Israeli citizenship living in Israel or acting on its behalf".

In 1995, following the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, the Jordanian Parliament repealed the 1973 law which mandated the death penalty for those selling land to Jews. In its place, milder statutes were adopted that still effectively bar Israelis from purchasing or leasing land in Jordan.[6]

In March 2007, Jordan arrested two Arabs suspected of selling a house in Hebron to Israelis.[7]

[edit] Law against Jewish citizenship

Jordan has a law explicitly prohibiting any Jew from becoming a citizen.[8] Jordan's laws against Jewish residence has been described by Benjamin Natanyahu[9] and Alan Dershowitz[10] as apartheid.


Brian Grant Foley 04:59, 22 October 2007 (UTC)A US Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2006 on Jordan contradicts these assertions that persons of Jewish descent are discriminated against :

The Government recognizes Judaism as a religion; however there are reportedly no Jordanian citizens who are Jewish. The Government does not impose restrictions on Jews, and they are permitted to own property and conduct business in the country. [[1]Jordan :International Religious Freedom Report 2006]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Jordan. US Department of State (March 4, 2002). Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  2. ^ Al Abed, Oroub (February 2004). Palestinian refugees in Jordan. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  3. ^ Frelick, Bill (August 24, 2006). Jordan: Iraqi refugee children denied the right to going to school. Child Rights Information Network . Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  4. ^ Human Rights Watch interview, (P-14), Amman, April 27, 2006
  5. ^ Surviving in Jordan. Human Rights Watch (November 2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  6. ^ (Safian, Alexander), Land, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel , June 25, 1997, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, Boston, MA
  7. ^ Shragai, Nadav (March 31, 2007). Jordan, PA arrest 2 Palestinians for selling Hebron house to Jews. Haaretz. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  8. ^ {Dershowitz, Alan), The Case Against Jordan
  9. ^ Natanyahu, Benjamin (January 2000). A Durable Peace: Israel and its Place Among the Nations. London: Warner Books. ISBN 0446523062. 
  10. ^ Dershowitz, Alan (November 22, 2006). The World According to Jimmy Carter. Huffington Post. Retrieved on 2007-07-18. “The reality is that other Arab and Muslim nations do in fact practice apartheid. In Jordan, no Jew can be a citizen or own land.”