Jordanian Queen Writes Kids’ Book Teaching Tolerance, but Will Not Allow Hebrew Translation

Jordan’s Queen Rania is on a mission, to bridge the religious and cultural divides between the Muslim and Western worlds. She also wants to advocate for education in her country.

To serve those goals she has written a children’s book called  “The Sandwich Swap.”  The book uses  lunch sandwiches (one peanut butter and jelly, the other pita bread and hummus)  as a metaphor for the differences between two friends from different cultures. The Book touches on such issues as getting to know others, openness and multiculturalism.

The book sounds like a wonderful, “give one goosebumps and motivate you go outside in the rain to kiss your neighbor then sing Kumbaya,” type of book. To complete the “feel good” niceness of the book it even published in the US, by Hyperion which is owned by The Walt Disney Company.

There is only one problem with Jordan’s Queen Rania’s message of tolerance, she doesn’t believe in it.

According to a report by the liberal Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz, Jordan’s Queen Kumbaya Rania has refused all offers to have her book published in Hebrew for distribution in Israel. Keep in mind that Jordan is one of two Arab states that has signed a peace treaty with Israel (the other is Egypt).

Queen Rania of Jordan has turned down several offers to publish a Hebrew version of a children’s book she recently wrote. The book, which was published in the United States by Hyperion under the title “The Sandwich Swap” for children between 4 and 8 years old, was co-written with Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by Tricia Tusa.

….Brisk sales of the book have put it on the New York Times’ bestseller list, and its promotion in the United States has included appearances by the Jordanian queen in television interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters. The book was launched in April with a reading given by Rania at the United Nations.

Ah, The United Nations — the world’s number one Israel-bashing organization. That kind of figures.

Since 2007, Queen Rania has been working with UNICEF on child welfare issues and as honorary chairwoman of the UN’s effort to promote the education of girls.

“The Sandwich Swap” has been published in English and Arabic. The queen’s website notes that proceeds from the sale of the book will go to an organization in Jordan that is renovating 500 schools there.

Gee, the queen is sending a wonderful message to the children, tolerance for everyone except the Jews.

The truth is that even though Jordan has signed a treaty with the Jewish State, they have no desire to be friends with Israel. The real reason Abdullah II, the Jordanian King, pushes so hard for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs — he fears the Palestinian Arabs.

Here in the US, one of the most racist phrases is “Not in my neighborhood!”  This disgusting practice is used when someone of one ethnic background dares to purchase a house on a block  populated by a different group. In November of 2006 Abdullah, for all intents and purposes, used that phrase to refer to Palestinians in a speech to the Jordanian Parliament:

“Jordan will not accept an unjust settlement of the issue, nor will Jordan accept any settlement that comes at its expense,” Abdullah told lawmakers, who applauded loudly. The king did not elaborate, but he was referring to Jordanian fears of a settlement that would cause thousands of Palestinians to settle in the kingdom, upsetting the country’s delicate demographic balance (of course he is trying to do just that to Israel by pushing the Saudi Plan). Source

That sounds as if the diminutive King of Jordan is a racist. Abdullah rejects the Palestinians living in his country because Jordan is a Palestinian state. Palestinian Arabs are estimated to be between 50-75% of the Jordanian Population.  The ruling monarchy of Jordan is not Palestinian Arab and constantly needs to guard its power. That  is why Jordan has kept the Palestinian Arab refugees in a ghetto since 1948. It is also why even to this day, Jordan refuses to give the Palestinian Arabs citizenship or allow them to be integrated into Jordanian society. Don’t forget, until 1967 the West Bank of the Jordan River was part of  Jordan, so the country used to be an even greater percentage Palestinian Arab. When the terrorist Arafat was getting too powerful,  the Jordanian Army acting on the orders of the Abdullah’s father, King Hussein, massacred thousands of Palestinian Arabs to get them out of the country.

Jordan’s has no real desire to make a real peace with Israel, they just  want to make sure the Palestinian problem does not get put where it belongs, on King Abdullah’s lap.

The Queens refusal to allow her book on tolerance to be translated into Hebrew is just one more indication, albeit an ironic one, of the Kingdom of Jordan’s lack of intention of creating a lasting peace between Jordan and Israel