Houthi Shmouthi

Random Thoughts On Everything

Prayers from the seafront mosque in Jaffa can be clearly heard in Neve Tsedek today.

The skies are deep blue, local building sites quiet, a holiday peace has prevailed throughout the week long festival of Pesach. Almost. Because of course the Houthis felt compelled to send rockets over on the first and the sixth day, which I somehow doubt were carrying gifts of matzah, nor their very best wishes for hag Pesach sameach. Fortunately the iron dome fulfilled its protective duties, sirens sounded, eight of us squashed into the safe room, and all was well.

Hopefully, the air-miles on jet-ballistic, Yemen's most luxurious fleet of rocket launchers, are fast running out. Allegedly Iran have been withdrawing their support, pulling back on manpower and explosives to serve their own more immediate needs in a will they, won’t they, game of chicken, now being played out with America and Israel over their country’s nuclear program.

“What is a Houthi?” People ask this question with a frown as if searching their minds for an answer they can’t quite find. Having done some research I would say, it’s complicated. They are also known as Ansar Allah … Supporters of God. Quite which of the many Gods I’m no expert, but It seems clear that this heavenly being they worship, glories in death and violence. Belonging to a branch of Shia Islam called Zaida, they were created in the 1990s by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi who was killed in 2004 by the Yemeni government. Perhaps a lesson is to be learnt here. Loosing their leader did nothing to prevent another six wars taking place. Up popped more members of the charming al-Houthi family, and with much swapping of sides, betrayals and alliances the Yemeni president was eventually forced to flee in 2014. Since then the country has been fighting a Civil War of multiple factions.

The Houthis are supported and directed by Iran, whilst the exiled president’s opposing government is backed by a Saudi-led coalition. Then we have the Southern Separatists, and last but surely not least, the Islamic militants who include delights such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS. A boiling pot of miscreants. Like many an over-tired toddler, they tend to lash out. They confuse our western values and sense of fair play by sending unprovoked missiles and drones to attack the Red Sea shipping routes. Few of the ships sailing through have a connection to the Middle East, but I guess there’s a clue to this unpredictable behaviour … and their direct attacks on Israel with whom they have no history of conflict … in the juvenile slogans, ‘Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews (of course) Victory to Islam’ (odd as Shiite Muslims have no love for Sunnis who make up 99% of the Gazans they are claiming to support). It seems likely that much of their irrational behaviour is encouraged by the highly addictive and popular drug Qat. They chew the leaves of this plant over several hours to stimulate feelings of euphoria and alertness that are similar to the effects of cocaine.

Unsurprising to me, the UN has failed to broker a peaceful solution. Meanwhile a humanitarian crisis persists, leaving millions of Yemeni people in need of aid. These victims of terror are subjected to starvation, lack of water, and the draconian rule of Houthi courts. Their children are taken and forced to serve as child soldiers, women are abused and raped, they have no rights, no freedom, little education, and daughters are often married off whilst still children.

Were it not for the attacks on International shipping I doubt governments worldwide … excepting Saudi Arabia … would care. Certainly our keffiah wearing students are far too obsessed with hating Israel and loving Hamas. They have no time to spare, what with printing hate placards and flyers. Tearing down hostage photos, intimidating Jewish students, inventing sly, new, more catchy rhymes to defame the world’s only Jewish State. Graffitiing buildings and synagogues, removing Israeli products from supermarket shelves. Destroying artworks with Jewish connections, insulting the obviously orthodox for daring to walk in public places. Swarming through London on weekend marches, ripping down yellow ribbons, miss-using the word Zionist as code for Jews when posting hatred and blatant antisemitism on social media. Hitting likes for Hamas propaganda, hitting dislikes for anything vaguely Jewish … films, comedians, authors and actors, some of whom have dared to express their opposing opinions. Banning pro-Israel speakers from campuses, shouting down pro-Israel speakers (particularly if they are Arab Israelis, those amongst the two million who live equally in Israel. A truth that doesn’t fit the student’s false narrative). Consistently telling Mosab Hassan (Son of Hamas) that he doesn’t know what he is talking about when discussing his father Sheikh Hassan Yousef’s founding of the terror group, Hamas. Funny how much more appealing students find it to hear the twisted, inaccurate knowledge of some spoilt, dim, middle-class kid (who couldn’t find Israel or Gaza on a map) than they do the highly critical narrative of a Ramallah man born at the heart of the murderous family directly responsible for Gazan misery.

In truth, the only thing our students and terror merchants such as Hamas and the Houthis have in common, is their ignorance. I can almost forgive the uneducated Houthis for their blind stupidity, but not the westerners offered opportunities beyond the wildest dreams of those living in the hellhole of Yemen. For collectively squandering their time at university to wallow in the pig swill that many would call racism … may its indelible stink haunt them as a permanent mark of shame.