...and Yemen!
- Thread starter chilango
- Start date
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
What's happening there at the moment? I've heard some pretty disturbing stuff about the antisemitism of the Houthi movement, do you know if there is any truth to these reports?
UN panel describes ‘systematic’ persecution driving Jews out of Yemen - Jewish News
Report about Houthi rebels and the country's previous government outlines there are just 7 Jews remaining in Yemen
www.jewishnews.co.uk
klang
klang
Yemen is probably the only of the current wars that never got the false flag / staged / crisis acted analysis.
Neither did the USS Cole bombing, even though it could have been the perfect loon target. Probably partly because it happened pre 911...
klang
klang
"Allah is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam"What's happening there at the moment? I've heard some pretty disturbing stuff about the antisemitism of the Houthi movement, do you know if there is any truth to these reports?
UN panel describes ‘systematic’ persecution driving Jews out of Yemen - Jewish News
Report about Houthi rebels and the country's previous government outlines there are just 7 Jews remaining in Yemen
There is a lot of truth to it, and anti semitism is nothing new or specific to the Houthis in Yemen, but the demise of Judaism in Yemen must be seen in a wider context.
I don't have time atm, but this is worth reading:
Israel airlifts 19 of last remaining Yemeni Jews
Evacuation of rabbi and 500-year-old Torah scroll to Israel signals end of 2,000-year-old community in Yemen
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klang
klang
also for context Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen) - Wikipedia
klang
klang
although, I don't fully agree with the article stating that Magic Carpet ended in 1950. it really went on until that flight linked to in that Guardian article above.
I remember somehow Israel saying the same, but can't remember where or when or what.
teqniq
DisMembered
In the early years of this conflict I naively thought the Houthis were the 'good guys'. It became apparent though in fairly short order that this was not in fact the case and there are actually no 'good guys'. The British involvement with the Saudis however as evidenced by the BAE systems contract to maintain their air force and provide logistics support is all about money and power and is completely inexcusable.
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
Thanks , I knew about the Houthi slogan and the reports of killings and persecution etc but given that Israel and Iran are both involved in the conflict and Israel might have an interest in emphasising the Houthi actions more than Saudi backed groups, wasn't sure if I was getting the whole picture."Allah is Greater, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam"
There is a lot of truth to it, and anti semitism is nothing new or specific to the Houthis in Yemen, but the demise of Judaism in Yemen must be seen in a wider context.
I don't have time atm, but this is worth reading:
Israel airlifts 19 of last remaining Yemeni Jews
Evacuation of rabbi and 500-year-old Torah scroll to Israel signals end of 2,000-year-old community in Yemenwww.theguardian.com
klang
klang
Worth remembering that Saleh fought a long and cruel civil war against them for decades. The whole Sada area was cut off from the outside world, bombed and starved for years and years.
klang
klang
Via Saleh from the safety of his exile in US
teqniq
DisMembered
I did some reading around when this all started and it is indeed the case (I posted links to articles early on upthread). However once they got themselves into a position of power they turned out to be fairly brutal and repressive all on their own account. If you can be bothered to look I posted at least one link to an article detailing their repressive nature.
klang
klang
Totally agree. Nasty.
Was just trying to say that thinking they were the good guys is understandable considering their history. I thought the same. Maybe not quite 'good guys', but i too was taken aback by how cruel and ruthless they turned out to be.
klang
klang
Just after the Houthis conquered Sanaa they published a photo which showed them smoking cigs and chewing qat on Nobel Peace Price winner Tawakkol Kaman's bed. This yo me was one of the defining and most devastating images of the war. It showed how the Houthis with the help of their once enemy crushed the revolution, shat all over womens rights developments, layed down their law, showed disrespect, and looked depressingly confident. We do what we want, no one can touch us. Fuck you.
klang
klang
Tbf, also because there was and is no 'active war' eg shooting and bombing campaigns in the south east.
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klang
klang
in a war lines get quickly blurred and with Yemen it's difficult to keep track of who is who, but let's not forget that the Southern Movement has a big presence and enjoys wide spread support (morally as well as militarily). They haven't been totally crushed but tend to be silenced and brushed under the carpet by all other parties, from Saudi to Houthis to AQAP to USA and Britain and Iran. They are a pain in the arse for everybody.
They are worth remembering and we sort of owe them a little mentioning now and again.
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
Interesting, would you be able to say a bit more about them? I was sympathetic Rojava and the FSA in Syria to some extent before it became apparent there were serious issues with both groups
klang
klang
like I said, lines are quickly blurred in a war as devastating as Yemen's, and when things got tangled wrt the Southern Movement was when they formed an alliance with Hadi. They suddenly enjoyed unprecedented military might and success, but ultimately fighting with / for somebody who'd do and has done pretty much anything to avoid separation. I don't even want to think about what sort of crimes were committed on the battle field, and the SM are def no strangers to combat and forming alliances, and all the nasty stuff that entails.
However, I really don't know too much about it and it's very difficult to keep track of things, so everything I say must be taken with a big pinch of salt. I too would like to learn more about it.
(I used to hang out in Sheffield with Southern Yemenis a lot who told me a fair bit about it, but this was pre war. I guess in terms of aims and popular support a comparison with ETA isn't too far fetched)
wiki SM article: Southern Movement - Wikipedia
klang
klang
to add - amongst all the twisted and violent groups, the war criminals, the tribal alliances, the islamists, the fractions, the political parties, etc etc, it is very refreshing and reassuring that the one movement that doesn't fight for Islam but for socialism and equality, the Southern Movement, still enjoys widespread popular support and to this day is a major player in Yemen's developments.
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
It says in the Wikipedia article they're fighting for independence of South Yemen? Is there a group which resembles them elsewhere in the country?
The article also claims that there are allegations the UAE and Russia support them which seems weird given there's much more documented support for the Houthis and other proxies from Russian allies like Iran etc, do you know anything about that or is that bollocks?
klang
klang
don't quite know what you are asking?
but yes, an independent south is their ultimate goal.
many Southern Yemenis (esp Adenis) weren't happy with unification in 1990. Not only were functioning 'socialist' achievements (from workers rights to feminist issues to education, all the way to the right to drink alcohol) lost to a mix of tribal- and sharia law, but Saleh also made sure to move industry and employment opportunities to the North of the country, sharing money making out nicely amongst his own tribes people (Sanhan) and allied tribes. The North loved him for it, the South was devastated. He made sure people in the South were kept poor enough to not be able to finance opposition parties, or, even worse, a separatist movement.
20 years later, when Saleh financed and allied with the Houthis to revenge his outing, Hadi had little choice but to involve SM and to make allowances, SM being the only counter movement that wasn't affiliated with either AQAP, the Houthis, Iran, or with a tribe allied with Saleh.
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
I meant is there a similar secular/socialist group in the north? Sorry if it wasn't clear.
klang
klang
dunno tbh.
Worth noting though - part of Saleh's plan to mobilise the Houthis was to keep SA out of the country, to form a barrier or a buffer....Houthi territory is bang in between SA and Sana'a.
I guess any force pledging to fight the Houthis would be of interest to SA.
klang
klang
nothing I know of, at least not before the Arab Spring. (There well might have been, and I don't want to dismiss something I'm not aware of, but it def wouldn't have been easy to form radical political movements in the north. Too complex is the mix of tribal laws and traditions, too conservative the media, too repressive the state. Saleh was very good at making sure there was nothing but him, nothing but tribes and Islam)
However, when the revolution hit, Yemen led by example. It was as if the pressure valve after decades of oppression finally gave in. What Yemen achieved in terms of questioning the status quo, equality, student's movements, workers rights, togetherness in a few weeks took other countries centuries. It was astonishing. Until Saleh had enough and fought back as hard as he could.
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
Where does the UAE fit into this, or is it simply a desire to ensure 'stability' and that an Iran backed force doesn't get too powerful in the country?
