US embassy cable - 04AMMAN1971

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 001971 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/RA LAWSON AND OES/PCI SHAW 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SENV, IS, JO 
SUBJECT:  Jordanian-Israeli Desert Research "Bridging the 
Rift" Project Opens Chasm of Criticism 
 
 
1.  (U)  This is a joint Embassy Amman/Embassy Tel Aviv 
message. 
 
2.  (SBU)  SUMMARY.  With great fanfare, Israeli and 
Jordanian officials as well as private Israeli and U.S. 
financial backers laid the cornerstone of the "Bridging the 
Rift" (BTR) cooperative research facility in barren Wadi 
Araba on March 9.  With scores of Arab, Israeli and 
international media recording the event, Jewish-American 
businessman Mati Kochavi, the founder and CEO of BTR, spoke 
of his dream to create a hub for technology, research, and 
education for all people in the Middle East.  Separate 
events -- highly publicized in Israel -- were also held 
with Prime Minister Sharon and King Abdullah.  Stanford and 
Cornell Universities are affiliated with BTR and will 
eventually offer PhDs through the project.  Israeli 
Minister of the Treasury Netanyahu and Minister of 
Education Livnat lauded the initiative.  Their Jordanian 
counterparts, Minister of Planning Awadallah and Minister 
of Education Toukan, while strongly supportive in their 
public remarks, made pointed reference to the need for 
mutual acceptance, justice, Palestinian rights and 
freedoms, and "bridging rifts, not building walls." 
 
3.  (SBU)  While the events received positive treatment in 
the Israeli press, there was decidedly negative reaction on 
the Jordanian side, including a call by 20 members of 
parliament, mostly Islamists, March 14 for the impeachment 
of three ministers who participated in the inauguration 
ceremony.  Jordan's Arabic press, trade unions, and 
professional associations criticized the government for 
entering into such a collaborative arrangement with Israel, 
given the current political climate and public sympathy for 
the plight of the Palestinians.  The King's publicized 
reception of the private members of the group in Amman 
appeared to mute the opposition temporarily.  An admirable 
goal, BTR probably will not be up and running for several 
years, but this week's launch should help to raise 
awareness of the project and, more importantly, funds from 
private benefactors.  Although the center could serve to 
stress the mutual benefits of the Jordan-Israel 
relationship, the maneuver by some in Parliament adds to 
recent strains, including the cancellation of Israeli 
Foreign Minister Shalom's visit to Jordan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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REPLACING A BORDER WITH A BRIDGE 
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4. (SBU) On an extraterritorial parcel of real estate, 
comprising equal amounts of land given to the Bridging the 
Rift (BTR) project by Jordan and Israel and negotiated 
between the two countries' officials over the past several 
years, BTR officials intend to build a world-class 
scientific research institution, focusing on life sciences 
and desert environments.   A Madison Avenue-style laying of 
the campus cornerstone took place on March 9 in the company 
of senior government officials from Jordan and Israel, as 
well as the BTR's American and Israeli founders and 
financial backers.  The star-studded audience also included 
former Congressman Jack Kemp, General (ret.) Tommy Franks, 
Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman, Stanford Vice Provost 
Arthur Bienenstock and numerous prestigious academics, 
including Stanford's Paul Ehrlich.  .Israeli Minister of 
the Treasury, Benjamin Netanyahu, was joined by Education 
Minister Limor Livnat to underscore Jerusalem's commitment 
to the project.  Prime Minister Sharon had earlier that day 
hosted a breakfast for the BTR organizers and supporters in 
his Jerusalem residence.  On the Jordanian side, Minister 
of Planning and International Cooperation Bassem Awadallah 
led the delegation that included Minister of Education 
Khaled Toukan, Minister of Higher Education Issam 
Zaabalawi, and representatives from the military, 
intelligence, business community, and academia.  King 
Abdullah held a palace reception in Amman for the group 
that evening, although by mutual agreement the two Israeli 
ministers did not attend. 
 
5.  (SBU) "Working together to solve compelling scientific 
questions will require students to build bridges of trust 
and interdependence," according to the BTR press release. 
BTR envisions overcoming political and ideological 
differences through collaborative scientific research. 
BTR's visionaries hope that students and scientists working 
with the center will themselves become bridges between Arab 
and Israeli societies. 
 
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BRIDGING RIFTS, NOT BUILDING WALLS 
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6.  (SBU) These themes of coexistence were echoed by all of 
the featured speakers at the ceremony.  From BTR founder 
Mati Kochavi to Bibi Netanyahu and Bassem Awadallah, each 
emphasized the need for healing divides, doing more for 
peace, and opening minds.  Invoking the King Hussein/Rabin 
peace treaty signing in Wadi Araba 10 years ago, 
individuals spoke of King Abdullah's and Sharon's 
commitment to peace and to mechanisms, such as the BTR, 
that help to achieve it.  Netanyahu joked about the BTR 
project finally offering some "good news from the Middle 
East."  Awadallah put the BTR in the context of harnessing 
young talent, creating jobs, and developing Jordan 
economically.  He said that Jordan has "much to learn from 
Israel," but used the podium to caution that Palestinian 
rights and freedoms must be respected.  Calling for 
"bridging rifts, not building walls," Awadallah took a jab 
at Israel's physical security cordon snaking across parts 
of the West Bank.  Toukan echoed those sentiments, talking 
of better understanding and mutual respect based on 
justice. 
 
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CHASM OF CRITICISM 
------------------------------- 
 
7.  (SBU) The Jordanian Islamic Action Front (IAF), the 
political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, issued a written 
statement March 10 calling on the GOJ to halt construction 
of the research center.  The IAF claimed that the center 
undermined Palestinian resistance against Israeli 
occupation forces and denigrated Jordanian sentiment 
opposed to any form of normalization with Israel.  "We were 
shocked to learn that the cornerstone of a joint 
technological center between Jordan and the Zionist entity 
was laid yesterday and that it came at a time when the 
enemy [Israel] is intensifying its massacres against our 
Palestinian brethren," said the statement.  The IAF further 
alleged that the gap between Arabs and Muslims and the 
"racist Zionist entity will not be bridged because it 
defies reality, history and dogma." 
 
8.  (SBU) Jordan's Higher Executive Committee for the 
Nation's Protection and Resistance to Normalization, 
comprising members from the country's opposition parties, 
trade unions, and professional associations, issued a 
statement on March 7, warning the government against 
"dangers posed by such a project." 
 
9.  (SBU) Jordanian Foreign Minister Muasher, responding 
from Washington to criticism about the BTR, used the press 
stakeout outside the State Department following his meeting 
with the Secretary March 9 to underscore that "the 
Jordanian/Israeli scientific project is not political."  He 
added that "it is important to make progress on other 
fronts," far from politics, such as supporting such 
academic initiatives.  The BTR "is not only Jordanian and 
Israeli, but also enjoys the participation of major U.S. 
universities," Muasher said, defending the project against 
attacks from Jordanian critics. 
 
10.  (SBU)  In two separate stories, Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
reported that the IAF and the Jordanian Communist Party 
criticized Jordan for establishing the BTR center.  The 
same sentiment was reflected in editorial commentaries in 
Al-Arab Al-Yawm by Chief Editor Taher Al-Adwan and moderate 
writer Jamil Al-Nimri, who argued that Jordan's diplomacy 
should aim to pressure Israel into stopping the massacres 
of Palestinians, the construction of the wall, and 
expelling Palestinians in the Occupied Territories from 
their land.  Instead, this joint project rewards Israel for 
these acts.  East Bank nationalist writer Nahed Hattar 
asked on March 11 if Jordan considered what the status of 
the center would be if Israel went ahead with a massive 
expulsion of Palestinians towards Jordan, or if it 
escalated its tension with Syria and Lebanon to the point 
of open conflict.  The King's public association with the 
project appeared at first to mute the criticism.  However, 
16 IAF members joined by four independents called March 14 
for a vote of no confidence for the three ministers who 
attended the cornerstone-laying ceremony.  One MP called 
the inauguration ceremony "degrading" and accused the 
government of hiding plans for the center from the public. 
Other MP's defended the center, noting that it fell within 
the Jordan-Israel peace treaty.  Planning Minister 
Awadallah said that many nations compete to have 
"prestigious universities" such as Stanford and Cornell 
support such a center. 
 
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HEALING DIVIDES 
-------------------------- 
 
11.  (SBU) Jordan and Israel have jointly conceived and 
designed BTR from the outset, over the past four years. 
Defining the concept, vision, and research plan has been 
the task of the BTR committees in each country as well as 
an American one.  Overcoming legal, security, and political 
obstacles, the BTR committees have brought the project to 
where it is today. 
 
12.  (SBU) The BTR center hopes to become a science and 
technology village, ultimately attracting the best young 
minds in the Middle East, although it is acknowledged that 
the first beneficiaries will be students from Jordan and 
Israel.  Working on advanced research in the life sciences 
with special focus on desert environments, BTR is seeking 
to leverage its relationships with Stanford and Cornell 
Universities to offer PhDs through these institutions.  BTR 
will take advantage of Stanford's and Cornell's significant 
investment in technology, science, intellectual property, 
data, and laboratories to boost its own capacity.  The BTR 
center foresees three targets of opportunity:  educating 
PhD students; providing research opportunities for post- 
docs; and developing business opportunities arising from 
the research. 
 
13.  (SBU) In the long term, BTR could begin to play a 
broader role in other topics of common concern throughout 
the region.  It aspires to becoming a center of conflict 
resolution, bringing together leaders to consider creative 
solutions inspired by the spirit of BTR. 
 
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COMMENT:  PEACE TREATY BUILDING BLOCKS 
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14.  (SBU) It is no wonder that BTR, which if realized will 
represent a visible sign of Jordan's peace treaty with 
Israel, is a lightening rod for opponents of peace.  The 
high-octane publicity strategy its proponents have chosen 
may assist in international fundraising, but it creates an 
easy target for anti-normalization elements.   Similar 
collaborative initiatives, such as USAID's Middle East 
Regional Cooperation program or the Jordanian QIZ system 
with required Israeli content, also suffer from negative 
reactions and wildly distorted interpretations whenever 
they hit the radar screen of public opinion. 
 
GNEHM