AMMAN, Jordan — As Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary, it is difficult to find people on the streets in the cities of Jordan who are willing to utter the word “Israel.”

 A juice bar entitled Palestine Juice is in downtown Amman

For the majority of Jordanians I spoke to, all of the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River is “Palestine,” notwithstanding the existence of a 1994 peace agreement between Israel and Jordan.  

In the small, remote village of Umm Qais, Ibrahim Al-Arousan, 37, sat in the Resthouse Restaurant, which has a commanding view of the Kinneret, the Golan Heights and the Galilee. Al-Arousan has a degree in conservation and heritage management from Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan.

Looking toward the Kinneret, Al-Arousan said, “There is Tabariyyeh [Tiberias], and Lake Taberiyyah [the Sea of Galilee] in Palestine… Before the occupation in 1948, my father and uncle used to travel back and forth with their caravan of camels from Taberiyyeh to Um Qais.”

In Um Qais, where few Westerners ever visit, virtually none of the villagers will use the word “Israel.” Shopkeepers  Omar and Salam Malkawy told visitors, “You must go to the [Resthouse] restaurant to see the view of ‘Palestine.’”

When Mustafa Mahmoud, who is studying accountancy, was asked whether he would like to visit Lake Taberiyyah, he answered, “No, don’t want to go. War,” he said, gesturing as if he is holding a gun.

Mahmoud’s friend, Hammad Ibraham, from Amman, looked toward Israel and said, “It’s dangerous.” He added that he is afraid to go to Israel, since he would be shot at there.

In Madaba, outside of Amman, Esau Amjad, a university-educated tour guide, refers to a mosaic map of Ashkelon as “Ashkelon, Palestine.”

In the village of Pella, Adnan Matar, a wealthy building contractor, looked out past the Jordan valley and said, “That’s Palestine, occupied Palestine.” When asked what he sees beyond the West Bank, he refused to say “Israel,” but answered, “That’s west of Palestine.”

Bob, an American archeologist, who wouldn’t give his last name, recalled that he once used the word “Israel” when in a taxi in Amman, and he said he could feel the tension afterward. As a result, he tells friends who visit not to use the word.

In Amman and it’s environs, many tourist shops sell coffee mugs with a map of the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Israel proper, with the word “Palestine” on it. The map has the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Netanya marked on it. There are also gold necklaces with the same map, marked Palestine, for sale.  

Abdullah Aloush, of Um Qais, who speaks English fluently, made a distinction between Jews and Israelis. “There’s no problem, for Jews coming here. Even if the villagers know they are Jewish, nobody will be against them.” But when asked about Israelis coming to visit, Aloush will not use the words “Israel” or “Israelis.”

In the five-star Royal Amman Hotel, Mohammed Alkalq, who is studying hotel management and was raised in Jenin, in the West Bank, said he left Jenin because of the economic stagnation there. “There is no tourism in Palestine, because of the war there.”

When asked who the war is between, he answered, “Between Palestine and the Jews.” When asked if he means that there is a war between Palestine and Israel, he refused to use the word “Israel.” He answered, “No, between Palestine and the Jews.”

Erin is an American who lives in east Jerusalem and was travelling in Jordan. She refused to give her last name. “I was surprised at how many Palestinians I met used the word ‘Jew’ but not the words ‘Israel’ or ‘Israelis,’” she said.

About 60 per cent of Jordan’s population is made up of Palestinians who fled, mostly from the West Bank, during the wars of 1948 and 1967 and after the Gulf War in 1991.

The relatively few Jordanians I encountered who were willing to use the word “Israel” are not of Palestinian origin.

For example, at the Pella Resthouse, built in 1992 by U.S. aid, manager M.E. Deeb Hussein said, “ I have been to Israel four times. I studied archeology in Jordan and Israel. I have been to the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot and to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem…  Everyone is welcome here. ”

Mohammad Janajrah, a driver for Payless Car Rentals in Amman, who recently retired from the Jordanian army after 18 years of service, said he wants to go to Israel.

“My parents went to Tel-Aviv and liked it, and some day I, too, will go.”