Thread by @GREENESJ333

A Mudar Zahran video is making the rounds. I reject it. This is why.

Mudar Zahran, a Jordanian-Palestinian activist living in the UK and self-proclaimed leader of the "Jordanian Opposition Coalition," and
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Khaled Abu Toameh, a respected Israeli-Arab journalist formerly with The Jerusalem Post, became embroiled in a significant dispute starting around 2013. The tension escalated when Zahran began a campaign of personal attacks against Abu Toameh,
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accusing him of being a mouthpiece for Jordan’s King Abdullah II and undermining Zahran’s credibility. Zahran’s allegations included claims that Abu Toameh received bribes (like an expensive car from a Jordanian intelligence official) and
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was secretly anti-Israel in his Arabic writings—charges Abu Toameh denied and which lacked substantiation.

This defamation played out publicly through articles, blog posts, and social media.
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Zahran’s attacks were partly fueled by Abu Toameh’s rejection of Zahran’s narrative. Abu Toameh, along with other Israeli journalists like Caroline Glick, had dismissed Zahran as a fraud with no real following in Jordan,
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arguing that his "opposition coalition" was a mirage built on websites rather than grassroots support. This critique hit Zahran hard, as he was trying to position himself as a viable alternative to Jordan’s monarchy and
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gain Israeli right-wing support for his "Jordan is Palestine" idea. Abu Toameh’s stature as a credible journalist lent weight to these dismissals, making him a target for Zahran’s ire.
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The feud reached a legal climax in 2017 when Abu Toameh sued Zahran and Ted Belman, editor of the IsraPundit blog, for defamation. Belman had amplified Zahran’s claims, accusing Abu Toameh of being a paid agent of Jordan’s king and speaking with a "forked tongue"
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(pro-Israel in English, anti-Israel in Arabic). In October 2020, an Israeli court ruled in Abu Toameh’s favor, finding no evidence for the accusations. Belman was ordered to retract his statements and apologize, with potential fines for future violations,
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while Zahran’s campaign was exposed as baseless. The court victory marked a significant blow to Zahran’s reputation, though he wasn’t directly penalized as he resided in the UK, beyond the court’s reach.

This clash and impugning of Abu Toameh's reputation erupted in phases:
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2013-2017: Zahran’s smear campaign intensified, with posts & articles targeting Abu Toameh’s integrity.

In 2014, a Jordanian court convicted him in absentia on multiple charges tied to his writings & activism against the monarchy, sentencing him to up to 15 years in prison.
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The charges stemmed from his outspoken criticism of King Abdullah II, including calling the regime an "apartheid state" and predicting its imminent collapse, which Jordan viewed as incitement and a threat to national stability.
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After fleeing to the UK in 2010 and gaining asylum, he’s remained a vocal exile, but that warrant ensures he can’t return without facing arrest.
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2017: Abu Toameh’s lawsuit highlighted the depth of their rift, drawing in other figures like Glick, who publicly disavowed Zahran after initially considering his ideas.
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Context of the feud: A 2017 "Jordan is Palestine" conference organized by Israeli right-wingers, where Zahran was a speaker, became a lightning rod.
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Abu Toameh’s allies accused Zahran of exploiting Israel for personal gain, while Zahran claimed Abu Toameh was sabotaging his movement at Jordan’s behest.
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The scandal was massive in its fallout: it fractured Zahran’s credibility among his Israeli supporters, earned him a ban from entering Israel in 2019 for "security reasons," and solidified Abu Toameh’s standing as a journalist.
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Zahran’s obsession with Abu Toameh—seen in his repeated, unproven accusations—suggested a personal vendetta, perhaps because Abu Toameh’s skepticism threatened Zahran’s grandiose ambitions.
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In 2014, a Jordanian court convicted him in absentia on multiple charges tied to his writings and activism against the monarchy, sentencing him to up to 15 years in prison.
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The charges stemmed from his outspoken criticism of King Abdullah II, including calling the regime an "apartheid state" and predicting its imminent collapse, which Jordan viewed as incitement and a threat to national stability.
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After fleeing to the UK in 2010 and gaining asylum, he’s remained a vocal exile, but that warrant ensures he can’t return without facing arrest.
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Zahran was also banned from entering Israel. His ban from Israel, enacted in 2019 for "security reasons," further complicates his position. It dashed his hopes of building alliances with Israel’s far-right and settler movements,
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who he’d courted with his "Jordan is Palestine" proposal. That ban, coupled with the skepticism from figures like Khaled Abu Toameh and Caroline Glick, has left him politically isolated, despite his persistent online presence.
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