Hundreds of Jordanians sign open letter in rare challenge to government

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that hundreds of Jordanian political, legal and other figures signed an open letter last week calling for the withdrawal of United States forces from Jordan in a rare public challenge to the government, which has long cracked down on free speech and dissent.

In recent weeks, Iranian missiles and drones have increasingly targeted US military forces and installations in Jordan, including early Wednesday, Iranian officials said. The attacks have repeatedly set off sirens across the kingdom and pulled the country further into a war it wanted no part of. But most Jordanians have remained silent.

READ: US says two military personnel killed in Jordan

People who signed the letter said they were driven by a sense of national responsibility and concern that the troop presence endangered Jordanian sovereignty.

“Jordanians are coming to the same conclusion that others in the region also have drawn: Hosting US bases endangers the country’s security! (In my opinion, both the region and the US will be better off by having the region take responsibility for its own security and US troops coming home)” said Trita Parsi, Iranian-Swedish writer and political analyst.

“We maintain that their presence exposes Jordan to security, political, and economic risks that serve no national interest and increases the likelihood of our country being dragged into a regional conflict to which it is not a party,” the letter said.

A Jordanian government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about either the open letter or allegations that free expression was being stifled.

Jordan hosts some 4,000 American soldiers at its bases, and the country is a hub for US military operations in the Middle East. After the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran in late February, Iran responded with retaliatory strikes against Israel and US allies in the region, including Jordan.

READ MORE: Jordan assures Iran its territory won’t be used for attacks

The war immediately hit Jordan’s tourism industry, which provides up to 18% of the revenue for the country. Jordan is already struggling with a weak economy, high unemployment and few natural resources.

Even as airstrikes on Jordan have increased, the government has appeared unwavering in its alliance with the United States, in large part, analysts said, because the country relies heavily on American foreign aid. Last year, the United States gave Jordan $1.65 billion in economic and military assistance, according to Jordanian officials.

Sufyan al-Tell, a 90-year-old political activist, said he signed the letter because he wanted to show the world there is a difference between the government’s position — in particular its support for close ties with the United States and Israel — and that of the Jordanian people.

“We as Jordanian people do not accept the politics of the government and its exploitation of Jordan and its capabilities in one way or another to defend Israel,” said al-Tell, who was arrested by Jordanian security forces in late 2022 for planning to publicly criticise a speech by King Abdullah.

Al-Tell said the presence of US forces has exposed Jordanians to danger, for instance, from debris falling from Iranian missiles aimed at Israel and intercepted by American air defences in Jordan.

Since the letter was released, al-Tell said, hundreds more Jordanians have added their names to it, despite knowing the risks.

“The response of the government is to open the prison doors and drag us one after another to prison,” he said, warning of the danger that signatories could face.

At a session of the Jordanian parliament on Monday, it became clear just how hot emotions were running over the US troop presence. When a lawmaker, Ali Al-Khalayleh, suggested that the lawmakers offer condolences to the United States for the death of its soldiers on Jordanian soil, he was met with shouts from other members, including one who accused the US military of killing children, women and the elderly.

It is difficult to gauge how much the letter represents popular sentiment because there is no public polling in Jordan, and the dangers of speaking out are high, said Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian-American journalist and columnist based in the capital, Amman. Those who signed the open letter mostly hold leftist, Pan-Arab or Islamist views, political observers said.

No Jordanian media outlet has published the letter, he said, reflecting government directives not to disseminate it as well as self-censorship. One outlet ran an article attacking the letter, without publishing the text of the letter itself. It has been shared on social media, but Kuttab didn’t expect it to inspire further dissent.

“There is a shrinking space for freedom of expression, a shrinking space for the right to protest,” he said. “I think this is probably a one-off. I don’t see a domino effect happening.”

In 2023, Jordan introduced harsh legal penalties for offences such as “spreading fake news” and “threatening societal peace,” targeting journalists, activists and others critical of the government, according to Amnesty International.

Last year, the government banned the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political group, accusing it of planning attacks in the country. Jordanian security forces also raided the headquarters of Jordan’s largest opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, considered the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.

Aaron Magid, the author of the book “The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan” and host of the podcast “On Jordan”, said the government has previously prosecuted people for criticising not only the government but even its allies.

“In this case, when they’re criticising the Jordan security policy and the most important element of it, that being its partnership with the United States,” he added, “that is a bold move.”