Arabic Press

Addustour’s local affairs editor highlighted the different views on foreign funding, noting that some consider it as reprehensible, unlike others who evaluate it according to its employment in developmental, social, political or media aspects.

Some consider it a means of livelihood granted to people from democratic countries, he added.

Some funding, which mainly originates from friendly countries, has reached individuals who have become centres of power and tyranny in the state, he stressed, calling for fighting such forms of funding and taking immediate measures.

A number of beneficiaries enjoy foreign protection granted by virtue of citizenship of great countries, he said, noting that some of them do not enjoy Jordanian citizenship in the first place and practice their business through relatives and friends.

Several use WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages affiliated with third parties to gain power, creating campaigns and launching them on social media, the editor noted.

The editor presented the aforementioned introduction in response to an article by Al Hurra’s Nidal Mansour, titled “Shackled Media”.

The editor described Mansour’s annual media report as “ridiculous”, claiming that Mansour used testimonies from a WhatsApp group where many benefit from grants and receive compliments from embassies.

It is true that some of those whose opinions surveyed are not from that group, he added.

Mansoor's article is not full of inaccuracies, but is based on them, the editor commented.

Al Ghad’s Mousa Shtewi said that the politically and religiously extreme right in Israel has managed to undermine the two-state solution, and it is almost undisputed that this solution is now unattainable.

US President Donald Trump, through the deal of the century and recognising Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, contributed to ringing the death knell of the two-state solution and helping the Zionist right in annexing parts of the West Bank to Israel, said the writer.

If all agree that establishing a sovereign Palestinian state on occupied territories is no longer possible, then looking for alternatives is legitimate, mainly for the Palestinian National Movement, said the columnist, adding that the option that surfaced recently by Arab and Palestinian intellectuals is the democratic one-state solution.

Arab and Palestinian supporters of such a plan say that this solution cannot only end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but would also, on the long term, give Palestinians supremacy when they become a majority for demographic reasons, which would put an end for the Zionist dream of a Jewish state, said the writer.

This solution means that Israelis and Palestinians have to accept this option for the current phase, where support for this option within Israel is very low and there are no signs that Israel will adopt this solution in the near future, said the columnist.

The option that Israel will seek is the racist state rather than the democratic, especially that the extreme Israeli right want the West Bank without its residents, which is the most dangerous option for Jordan that will be the only destination for Palestinians leaving the West Bank, added the writer.

This is exactly the reason why His Majesty King Abdullah insists on the two-state solution and his endeavours to stop the annexation plan is stemmed from his thorough awareness of the threats of such a project on the Kingdom, said Shtewi. 

Al Ghad’s Muhammad Momani said that the government has recently announced a series of procedures to resume medical tourism and attract patients willing to receive treatment in Jordan.

Reopening doors for medical tourism was accompanied with clear quarantine regulations for patients and their chaperones in hospitals or hotels hosting them, as well as asking for a COVID-19 test proving that they are free of the virus, said the writer.

The importance of resuming medical tourism lies in building on the achievements of the health successes in facing the COVID-19 pandemic and in benefiting from these successes economically, said the columnist, adding that economic benefits should be the top priority of decision makers in this phase.

The decision is good and represents a good economic and tourist trend, said the writer, expressing concern of having high expectations regarding medical tourism that has suffered and is still suffering from bureaucratic complications that contributed to its decline even before the outbreak of the pandemic.

Tourism is a true national capital and medical tourism is one of its main elements, where Jordan used to be the leader for such type of tourism in the region, said the columnist, adding that after the health sector regained its reputation, there have to be transparent procedures by both the government and hospitals to achieve envisioned goals.

Ad-Dustour’s Rasheed Hasan said that many messages were sent by the African American George Floyd as he took his last few breaths while being strangulated by a white police officer, who insisted on killing Floyd nonchalantly before millions of eyes.

It was a horrifying sight that reminded black Americans with their fate and the fates of their ancestors, who crossed seas to the American continent as enslaved people to build an unmatched civilisation with their blood, sweat and tears, said Hasan.

The writer noted that Floyd’s killing is also reminiscent of the fate of 130 million Native Americans who were slaughtered by the Yankees. The white cop’s insistence on killing the black man unmasked the spiteful, racist US face, and unveiled the racial terrorism that is practiced by US authorities in all facets of life and has become an integral component of white Americans’ chemistry, the columnist said.

The Minneapolis crime proved that the US is two-faced, as it has an unserious, hypocritical face that claims to respect human rights, while its other face is a racist, hateful, criminal face, Hasan said.

By further looking into this US model, it is found that it has produced models similar in hideousness, the writer said, underscoring the past South African model, and the Israeli model that practices state terrorism, ethnic cleansing and genocide against an unarmed people.

Hasan called for holding Israel accountable for its 100-year-old fascist crimes against the Palestinian people, and for ending the US collusion with Israel, which encourages the Zionist mobsters to continue their murderous terrorism.

Al Rai’s Ahmad Majdoubeh said that the time has come to focus on domestic tourism more than ever. Majdoubeh said that until the COVID-19 crisis ends, there are many factors that stand between the Kingdom and the return of international tourism, including the complicated travel situation, suspension of airlines and people’s fears of movement, among other factors.

The writer said that with all that in mind, domestic tourism must be prioritised as a “smart” solution for all individuals and establishments who rely on tourism economically, and for the government, for which tourism constitutes a key income tributary, as well as for citizens seeking leisure or adventure.

He said that Jordan, although small, boasts rich history, geography and climate, as well as natural and human-made wonders, and offers diverse natural settings such as deserts, shores and mountains, in addition to rich animal and plant reserves and important cultural and religious sites.

The columnist called for launching plans for active domestic tourism that pays domestic tourists the same respect it does international tourists and provides them with the best facilities, services and programmes for competitive prices.

Majdoubeh said that there are additional reasons that further invite encouraging domestic tourism including that people are about to leave a relatively long curfew and home quarantine period, therefore they need to unleash themselves into open refreshing spaces.

Additionally, he highlighted the fact that COVID-19 cases in Jordan have been from abroad, noting that Jordanians themselves no longer have the option of international tourism at least for the near future.

Al Ghad’s Mohammad Momani said that US President Donald Trump has been clashing with Twitter. Momani said that Trump has threatened Twitter with “strong regulation” and even “closing down” after accusing it of ideological bias for liberals against conservatives.

This is after the site fact-checked and added a warning label to a tweet of his that accused the California governor of attempting to tamper with the elections through allowing mail-in voting or postal votes in compliance with anti-COVID-19 social distancing, the writer said.

The columnist said that Trump’s war against Twitter is amusing considering how he himself used to say that he became president thanks to using the platform.

The US president himself used to complain about fake news and debunk them via his Twitter account, Momani said, pointing to Trump’s “self-contradicting”, “undemocratic” and “politically confused” behaviour by bashing Twitter for fact-checking information that he posted.

The columnist said that social media has its many pros, but among its prominent cons are spreading false and misleading news, which could lead to destabilising communities, along with privacy transgressions and providing platforms to ignorant and extreme mobs to broadcast their corrupt ideas.

He highlighted that countries have been pressuring social media corporations to further regulate use of their platforms to battle such unacceptable cons, noting that the corporations have responded to demands by launching fact-checking mechanisms and concluding agreements with trusted news institutions to help fact-check information on their sites.

Momani said that Trump ought to be happy about news verification on social media and even demand more of it for everyone’s sake.

Al Rai’s Issam Qadamani said that tourism and expatriates are Jordan’s petrol, wondering whether they will be running dry for a while.

As for tourism, it took a lethal hit, from which it will not recover before the middle of 2021 at best, Qadamani said, wondering where the Kingdom will be after the return of thousands of expatriates whose contacts have ended or been terminated due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The writer said that it is difficult to count all those whose work have ended or was ended in the Arab Gulf countries and elsewhere, but it is not difficult to expect their imminent forced return.

He said that the government must prepare for these expectations; stressing that it must not be too happy about the return of expatriates under the banner of reviving the economy when they bring back their saving and expertise.

Some compare the benefits of the return of expatriates after the first Gulf War and following wars to the current situation, but they must be reminded that the key difference is that Jordan did not host 1,200,000 Syrian refugees at the time, the columnist remarked.

Qadamani said that transfers from Jordanians working abroad amounted to $3.7 billion in 2019, highlighting that the return will cost Jordan these transfers, which are a source of foreign currencies to the Central Bank of Jordan and funding tributaries to investment and imports. 

Ad-Dustour’s Lara Utoum said that Jordanians should turn the COVID-19 crisis into a major station, the hazards of which have been conquered and transformed into points of strength and resilience as called for by His Majesty King Abdullah on Independence Day.

Utoum said that Jordanians felt joy on Independence Day, quoting His Majesty as he said “we have come together in our hearts, in spite of social distancing.”

She said that Jordanians committed to social distancing because it is the lifeline to save them from the spread of the coronavirus, as they have been practicing it for a little less than three months to date under the curfew orders.

The writer said that Jordan these days witnesses a resumption of work at a minimum capacity, highlighting that this is the first stage of the Kingdom’s efforts to return to work in light of the pandemic.

The columnist said that this stage invites further shared responsibility to enable Jordanians reach the second stage and work at a medium capacity in accordance with health standards and social distancing.

The past few days have testified to Jordanians’ awareness and sense of responsibility, as they have preserved their previous efforts by commitment to social distancing, which has major negative impacts on the economy, but Jordanians understand that it is the way to enable operating more sectors, Utoum said.

Social distancing may slow down workflow, but it will carry the Kingdom to the desired stage, and quickly so if the necessary compliance with health standards was present, she said.

Al Rai’s Nadia Aaloul said that US President Donald Trump has recently said that churches, synagogues and mosques are essential today and present indispensable services, calling on governors to reopen these houses of worship, especially that people badly need prayers these days.

Trump threatened that he would reopen these places by himself if governors were reluctant in taking this step, said the writer, wondering about the level of severity that exacerbated so much that people now have nothing but prayers.

People now are convinced that prayers and worships can be performed at houses to avoid infection, which resulted in closing all places that witness big groups of people, such as schools, universities, workplaces and worship places, said the columnist.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Sunday announced reopening its doors for worshippers and people Naples perform the eid prayers amidst crowds, said the writer, asking whether people can no longer tolerate more lockdown and quarantine and if the world is heading towards the herd immunity.

Over the past 20 years, many pieces of evidence accumulated that human impacts caused severe damages to the climate with expectations for such damages to continue in the future and cause further environmental, social, economic, political and health changes, added Aaloul.  

Al Ghad’s Mohammed Sweidan said that there is no need for thorough studies and statistics to know that the percentage of the unemployed has increased and will rise dramatically and unprecedentedly during this stage due to the difficult conditions imposed by the "coronavirus crisis." He said that the Ministry of Labour, in its recent statements, did not bring out something new.

What is more important than anticipating the increase in unemployment rate is looking for and finding appropriate means to halt this increase, which could reflect negatively on all of us, the writer said.

The government has not identified exact measures to be taken to reduce the high rate, while it talked about the issue in a general way, noting that it is “thinking outside the box” to find solutions, including marketing Jordanian competencies, redesigning the national framework of empowerment and employment, in addition to the replacement of expatriate workers with Jordanians.

These solutions do not reflect out-of-the-box thinking, as they have been previously proposed, adding that applying marketing the Jordanian competencies on the ground amid the coronavirus crisis is very hard, with many countries, especially the Arab Gulf states, which recruit tens of thousands of Jordanian workers, face many problems in this regard and have fired a good number of employees.

Protecting workers and preventing them from losing their jobs should be a top priority for the government, he said, urging the related bodies to review its decisions to avoid any mistake that could aggravate unemployment problem.