Palestinians reach out to their neighbors in Jordan after the November 9th suicide bombings in Amman. Almost all Palestinians have friends or relatives in Jordan. Several Palestinians were also killed in the attacks.

By Omar Karmi

Editor's Note: The Jordan Times recently ran the following editorial in response to the recent terrorist attacks in Amman.

"We were attacked because of what Jordan stands for, because of what it represents in this region and beyond: A model of stability and security in a constantly turbulent area, an example of moderation and tolerance amidst bloody wars and religious and ethnic tensions, a success story of modernisation in a gravely underdeveloped region."

Jordanian bloggers document their lives

By Natasha Twal (http://natashatynes.com)

The first to arrive was Isam Byzaidi, one of the players in a revolutionary new movement. Pacing back and forth outside a popular Amman coffee house, he eagerly awaited the arrival of his compatriots. None had met face-to-face; rather their relationships had played out virtually. As his cohorts slowly trickled in, he recognized them immediately via photos sprinkled throughout their online journals, today referred to as blogs.

The meeting was a first for this group of `bloggers' and in planning for nearly a month. After getting acquainted, the discussion moved quickly towards ways of furthering their blogging missions. The group included some of the first in Jordan to surf the growing global blogging wave, a medium currently challenging the work of traditional media.

by Rana Sabbagh-Gargour

Jordan's indigenous Arab Christian minority is not in high spirits these days.

Political uncertainty next door, both in Iraq and Palestine, and growing popular perceptions of a new global crusade being waged against Islam and Arab culture in the name of the "war on terror", are souring their mood.

As a result, many in this dwindling community--it now makes up less than three percent of the Kingdom's 5.2 million population compared to over six percent a century ago--are facing a dilemma. They are caught between the rock of the US-led "war on terror", and the hard place of having to remind their compatriots that the West sees them as Arabs, first and foremost.

In fact, followers of Islam and Christianity in Jordan--from the ruling political and economic elite, down to the ordinary man in the street--find themselves in the same predicaments, internally and externally.