In February 1959 two men – one who worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and the other who was a soldier in the Jordanian army – are sitting together playing cards in a coffee shop in Bethlehem. A third man walks in, “in a state of drunkenness”. And then (this is recorded in spoken Arabic) he says (or probably slurs): “You’re a good man, but your uniform is no good” and then rambled on and perhaps insulted some higher ups. Worse, even though everyone there attests to said behavior, the Ministry employee and the soldier cover for the guy, so the former gets busted by his employer. Not world historical by any means. That this warranted a back and forth by the Jordanian government seems a bit ridiculous, but it made me chuckle. I guess the state is always watching?
