Kamal Naffa

Kamal Naffa's article, "A Treaty Must Be More Than Words" (Commentary, Nov. 23), speaks eloquently of the ambivalent Jordanian response to the recent Israel-Jordan treaty. It's difficult for most Americans and Israelis to appreciate the reign of skepticism and suspicion and the reluctance of many Arabs and Arab Americans (Islamic fundamentalists aside) to fully accept the peace accords. We must understand why this remains so. We also agree, strongly, that the peace process must work quickly to work at all. The Mideast partners in growing dialogue must move forward or assuredly they will be moved backward.

Whether his death Sunday was greeted with the sagging grief one feels at the loss of a friend or the cool detachment reserved for a political foe, there was little denying King Hussein's soft-spoken charisma. "He was a king of the heart instead of just a king of his land," said Yousef Elia-Haddad, a Jordanian American who wept with hundreds of others inside his North Hollywood mosque hours after learning that Jordan's king had succumbed to cancer. "He taught us all humility," Elia-Haddad said.