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Interview: Prince Hassan of Jordan

Why Prince Hassan wishes the Arabs were more like Israelis

December 15, 2011 11:32
Prince Hassan recalls speaking in Hebrew to Shimon Peres during a visit to the White House. \"Peres was happy and impressed,\" he says

By

Adam Lebor,

Adam Lebor

4 min read

It is a rare Arab leader who says the Arab world can learn from Israel. But Hassan bin Talal, Prince of Jordan, is a realist, a pragmatist and one of the most outspoken reformers in the Middle East.

He praises Israel's "tenacity of purpose - to draw your line in the sand and say, here I will stand, to promote a shared public interest, in which all my population can participate. In terms of Israel's strategy of promoting and understanding their own position in the world, that is something the Arab world should have learned many years ago. We are our own worst enemies in that sense."

Born in Amman in 1947, Prince Hassan went to Harrow School and graduated from Oxford University in Oriental Studies. He was invested as Crown Prince in 1965 and served as the closest adviser to his brother, King Hussein. For decades the second most powerful man in Jordan, Prince Hassan was expected to succeed to the throne on the death of King Hussein in 1999. But, at the last moment, the Jordanian king replaced his brother with his son, Abdullah.

The decision sent shock waves through Jordan, but Prince Hassan has now successfully reinvented himself as a global leader and supporter of dialogue between faiths. He is an outspoken advocate for peace - and for Israel to reach a just solution with the Palestinians.