Palestinians in the West Bank face a relentless Israeli occupation.
Each year, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan celebrates Independence Day on May 25, commemorating its independence from the British in 1946.
Last year marked 78 years of independence for the kingdom, but Independence Day 2024 was not filled with the same multitude of parties, celebrations, and joyous events as would be expected.
Celebrating the holiday in Jordan in both 2023 and 2024, I immediately noticed how the attitude had shifted dramatically within just a year. In solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, many Jordanians of both Palestinian and Jordanian origin did not celebrate Independence Day in May 2024 amid the ongoing war in Gaza. But for many Palestinian-Jordanians, this is not their first time skipping out on the festivities, as their ancestors' homeland, Palestine, is not free.
“Did you see the fireworks this year?” asked Ahmed, a Palestinian-Jordanian resident of Amman, as we reflected on the holiday.
“Yeah, they were hard to miss,” I responded, recalling how they startled me as I drove home. They lit up the night sky with vibrant red and green.
“I've never seen them do this before, ever,” he said. “People didn’t celebrate this year because of Gaza, I think that’s why they did that [the fireworks].” He paused, then added, “But I never celebrate Independence Day.”
Ahmed grew up in the Talbieh UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp just outside of Amman and now lives in the city. Although he has lived in Jordan his whole life, Palestine is his home.
“What independence?... My homeland [Palestine] is not free. I don’t have ‘independence,’” Ahmed told me.
“It's a good day of course, but for me, no, I do not celebrate,” said Aon al-Rameeni, a Palestinian-Jordanian who, like Ahmed, is a descendant of refugees from the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. “It's like when you are here and you have fun, but it is not the Fourth of July, it is not your Independence Day,” he said to me.
Al-Rameeni was born in Jordan and has lived there his whole life, but he dreams of going back to Palestine.
“I am going to go back to Palestine,” he told me, even though it is nearly impossible for Palestinian-Jordanians to enter any part of historic Palestine, especially now during the ongoing war in Gaza.
In 1967, Aon’s family was among the approximately 400,000 Palestinians forced to flee their homes during the war, escaping from Jenin in the West Bank to the Zarqa refugee camp in Jordan.
“My mother was in the West Bank (during) the war and they knew about what happened in Deir Yassin and the other massacres, so they were very afraid,” Aon told me. “But they heard from the radio that there are Arabian tanks and the Arabian military that will come and defend Palestine. After that my grandmother saw the tanks in their neighborhood and everyone was celebrating because there were tanks from the Arabian military.” He paused. “But suddenly the tank and soldiers fired bullets on the people. At this time, they realized that they were Israeli military … they told them they should leave the neighborhood or they would be killed.”
“Maybe that story helps you understand, we did not choose to be here in Jordan,” he said, referring to my question about Independence Day. “I am always thinking on Independence Day: ‘What about Palestine, where is their independence? How is Jordan independent but not Palestine?'”
For many Palestinian-Jordanians, Independence Day serves as a reminder of what they do not have—it has become a day that prompts reflection rather than celebration.
The silence in place of festivities last year, marked by the absence of many who chose not to celebrate, highlights the significant effect the war in Gaza is having on Palestinian-Jordanians.
In their quiet resilience, Jordanians of Palestinian origin continue to uphold a vision of independence that, for now, remains an aspiration waiting to be realized.
