Ep. 207: The double game of the ‘American’ king of Jordan

Ep. 207: The double game of the ‘American’ king of Jordan

From Think Twice with Jonathan Tobin by JNS Podcasts

February 5, 2026 · 47 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the complex political landscape of Jordan under King Abdullah and his relationship with Israel and the United States.

According to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin, understanding the anomalous position of the kingdom of Jordan requires balancing distaste for its strident public advocacy against Israel against its role as a strategic ally. Tobin is joined in this week’s episode of Think Twice by journalist Aaron Magid, the author of the biography The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan. Magid, who worked in Amman for several years as a reporter says that it’s hard to measure the popularity of Jordan’s King Abdullah since its people have no say in their government. But he points out that Abdullah has skillfully navigated a dangerous political and strategic landscape by seeking to mollify the approximately half of his country’s population that is Palestinian with criticisms of Israel. At the same time, the half-British and American-educated king (who at the time of his accession to the throne in 1999 spoke better English than Arabic) has managed to closely align his country with the United States. And he is dependent on the close cooperation between his security services and those of the United States and Israel, without which it is unlikely that he would still be on the throne. The author…

People in this episode

Host: Jonathan Tobin

Guest: Aaron Magid

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: JNS

Places: Jordan, United States, Israel, Amman

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