In a throwback to the days when Arab politicians were forbidden to use the word “Israel”, 14 Jordanian trade unions last week held a demonstration in Amman calling for a ban on imports of fruits and vegetables from “the Zionist entity”.

The demonstration took place in spite of the government’s insistence that the imported products did not come from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

According to the annual survey of trade union rights published by the International Trade Union Confederation, “trade union rights are restricted, and only a single union is allowed” in Jordan — unlike Israel.  The report notes that “there are many obstacles to freedom of association . . . Unions must belong to the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU), the only trade union federation. The government subsidises the GFJTU staff’s wages and some of its activities.”