Zeid begins Washington role

Prince Zeid Bin Ra’ad, a
Jordanian diplomat with close ties to Jewish leaders, began serving as his
nation’s envoy to Washington. Until last year Zeid was Jordan’s envoy to the
United Nations, where he cultivated close ties with Jewish groups and worked
with them to modify some of the world body’s anti-Israel rhetoric.

Zeid’s ties with Jewish groups are thought to have helped scuttle his bid to become
U.N. secretary-general. Zeid began his work in Washington on Tuesday, a week
before King Abdullah II arrives in Washington to make his case to Congress and
President Bush for greater U.S. involvement in brokering an Israeli-Palestinian
peace agreement.