Review: “Live from Jordan”

Add comment August 20th, 2007

By Rowan Wolf

This is a review and recommendation of by Benjamin Orbach. Orbach, at the time an American grad student, traveled to Jordan on the eve of the invasion of Iraq. The book chronicles his journey and insights.

Overall, I am impressed with what Orbach brings to us in deepening our understanding of events in the Middle East, and particularly in Jordan. While sometimes reading a bit like a personal journal, some of his insights are excellent.

Orbach, a Jew, largely presented himself as a Muslim in his journeys through Jordan, Syria, Egypt and surrounds. What he brings to us, in part, is the view and life of the so-called “Arab Street.” Unlike news reports, and government studies, one gets a feel for the lives and thoughts of the people. I believe this is a tremendously valuable contribution for Americans whose government has focused on this region as central to U.S. “interests.” These are real people living their daily lives.

One of the things that he discusses about his visit to Turkey is the “duality” between the public and private lives of the people he interacted with. Turkey has a secular government (though this is under challenge at this time); however, it also has a high level of tourism which makes a more “cosmopolitan” environment. Religious edifices exist side by side with discos. Personal discussions of religion seem largely taboo (from Orbach’s description). This is hauntingly familiar to what used to be the norm in the U.S. where polite conversation avoided religion, politics, and sex. However, in Turkey, this creates a more stark contrast between the public and private lives of the people.

Orbach grapples with tough issues from cultural issues, to regional conflicts, to perceptions of the United States. His discussion counters and refines some of the generalizations that make up the political rhetoric of neo-conservatives. For example, Orbach discusses “America haters” as follows:

… there are two different streams of anti-American thought that should not be lumped together into one generalization. A more nuanced approach reveals two generalizations instead: America haters and America policy critics.

America haters are the “Arab Basement” drifters of Osama bin Laden nihilists. … They seek the overthrow of regional governments that they consider heretical…

American policy critics have a different agenda, and to a varying degree, a different source of displeasure than bin Laden nihilists or haters. Policy critics oppose the substance of American foreign policies rather than America’s character as an immoral and aggressive power. For them, it is more the unjust nature of American policies that deserves criticism and not the actual act of “interfering” that is so loathed by America haters. (164)

One of the things that I appreciated in Orbach’s work was the unexpected broader insight that stretched far beyond the body of the work while being pertinent to it. Such was the case with “duality” mentioned above, but another example came in the midst of a discussion of Palestine.

From the perspective of people and a people’s history, existence and history do not depend upon official sovereignty and independence. To be sure, the actions of government institutions and the relationship between the ruler and the ruled are key parts of any history. They influence the quality of a people’s life; however, they are not the exclusive components to a formula that determines a people’s history.

The absence of functioning and sovereign government institutions that are internationally recognized do not prevent Palestine from existing as a fact on the ground, a place. … If we were classifying these people by nationality, we’d call them by the nationality they’ve chosen as a people–Palestinian. So what of the official name of the land that they live on? Why do we insist that it be called the West Bank or Gaza? In the breathing world of humans, it is Palestine, the place of the Palestinian people. Official stationery, passports, and voting rights at the United Nations will not change the history of Palestinian life. It will add a new and positive change, but it will not make Palestine exist for the first time. Palestine is already a place with a history and a people. The passports and papers will make it a state. (199)

I highly recommend this work for those who want to get a feel for the lives, perspectives, and conditions of the people of the Middle East (and particularly of Jordan). I found the book thoughtful, but it also encouraged me to reflect on other issues from political to philosophical. While Orbach is not successful in stepping totally outside the American world view, it is useful for us all to follow his growth and change as his exposure and experience emerges. “Live from Jordan” is a journey for the reader as much as it was a journey for Benjamin Orbach.