The Haj - Leon Uris [185]
Despite Jordanian pressures, my father, the great Haj Ibrahim al Soukori al Wahhabi, emerged as the leader of the Jericho delegation.
With half the delegates pro-Abdullah from the outset, the Jordanian agents went to work on the other half. They were promised extra rations, cash, and future government jobs. When the agents had finished their ‘campaigning,’ Haj Ibrahim could count only a dozen men against the annexation of the West Bank. This number was further depleted when two of the most vocal anti-Abdullah delegates were assassinated and two others were taken off to Amman to face criminal charges for smuggling and black marketeering. The charges were transparent because these crimes were universally practiced, particularly among the Jordanian troops and their camp administrators.
When my father tried to replace his lost delegates, he was informed that the rolls were closed.
The prominence of the delegates was made apparent by their mode of transportation to Amman and the accommodations when they got there. The most important pro-Abdullah delegates were collected in private cars and assigned to villas and hotel suites and rooms. Others, like Father, all those living in the camps, were to be bused over the river and housed in a tent area of the Schneller Camp six miles beyond Amman. Although Schneller and Aqbat Jabar had the same populations, Schneller had a hundred delegates. It was a fact that some aspects of the conference would be less democratic than others.
Despite the deliberate humiliation of our being second-class delegates, I was enthralled with the entire trip. The ride over the Allenby Bridge through Salt, Suweilih, and into Amman at night was like a floating dream.
My father and I shared a small tent. When we were settled and fed, he called me close to him and told me to read him the agenda. He ordered me to stand before him, then he reached up and grabbed my ear between his fingers and shook it.
‘You must keep this close to the ground,’ he said.
‘I will, Father.’
‘First check the camp here,’ he said. ‘Abdullah’s major selling point among the exiles is that the camps in Jordan are much better off than the camps on the West Bank. I must have the true picture. He has also said that the exiles over here have access to jobs and schooling. What is the truth of that?’
‘I understand,’ I said.
‘You must move about and smell out other opponents of annexation, like myself. Carefully, carefully, carefully. Do not make contact with them, but let me know who they are.’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘And finally and most important, Ishmael: Keep on the alert for foul play.’
I awoke the next morning filled with anticipation of going into Amman. Nothing has ever disillusioned me more. Amman was pale stuff alongside Jerusalem. I could see my father’s point about who should be annexing whom.
At the center of the city, which was not much larger than Ramle or Lydda, stood an unimpressive little fountain sandwiched in between the mosque on one side and the antiquity of the Roman amphitheater on the other. Nearby, the Hotel Philadelphia headquartered the conference. A large banner straddled the street reading: WELCOME TO THE GREAT DEMOCRATIC CONFERENCE OF UNITY—PALESTINE AND JORDAN ARE ONE.
Other little trappings of welcome festooned the central area, but what was most prevalent was the presence of the Arab Legion. Attired in their renowned red headdresses with white polka dots, they were moustached mightily to a man and wore ankle-length tan and red riding robes and very angry expressions.
Intermingled with the legionnaires were the king’s other royal Bedouin. There must have been hundreds from the Beni Sakhr tribe with their pale blue and white robes trimmed in gold and bullet-filled bandoliers slung over their shoulders. The Beni Sakhr were known as the fiercest of all the Bedouin fighters, and their presence alongside the Legion bespoke the fact that, in Jordan, Abdullah was not to be taken lightly. It seemed there were ten armed Jordanians for every delegate.
My father and I made for the Hotel Philadelphia, where he was given