Who Are The Houthis? And Why The West Should Be Worried

Just Think Iran

One day, around five to six weeks ago, while I was driving, a news announcement said that the sirens had gone off in Eilat. If you do not know the map of Israel (remember, Israel is around the size of New Jersey), Eilat is situated down south, near the border crossing to Sinai.

There were three possibilities in everyone’s mind until it cleared up a few hours later.

The first was that Hamas somehow got their hands on long-range missiles. The second was that Hizbollah decided to get into the action, and they do have long-range missiles. The third is that the missile came from Iran.

It turns out that no matter how unlikely that third option was, it was the closest to the truth.

Suddenly, a new name appeared on our list of potential fronts to most of Israel. It was Houthis. And they were nowhere near Israel. They were in Yemen.

Well, it did throw the country into a slight panic. You see, many of the people who had survived the October 7th Hamas attack were relocated to Eilat hotels. The last thing they needed was to hear the sirens go off and find out that the missiles were now headed to peaceful Eilat.

But we shook it off. However, the Houthis would not go away. Even though the missiles they were firing had to travel over 2000 kilometers to get here. Just Google the distance between Yemen and Israel. That sounds insane, especially since the IDF and the US Carriers were tracking these missiles and shooting them down; it did not seem to concern the Houthis whatsoever. Suddenly, they, too, were out for Israel and Jewish blood.

We in Israel do get it—Hamas, Hizbollah, Iran, and now the Houthis. But for the most part, no one was worried their missiles were going to get through both the air defense of the US and Israel.

But who were these Houthis? What did they want from us? That was the question.

So let us dive into this so you can understand why this is not Israel’s problem but a huge problem developing for the West. And it must be solved.

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A quick trip to Wikipedia should solve some of the mystery.

The Houthi movement (/ˈhuːθi/; Arabic: الحوثيون al-Ḥūthīyūn [al.ħuː.θiː.juːn]), officially known as Ansar Allah[a] (أنصار الله ʾAnṣār Allāh, lit. 'Supporters of God'), is a Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Saada Governorate, Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaidi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely from the Houthi tribe.

Under the leadership of Zaidi religious leader Hussein al-Houthi, the Houthis emerged as an opposition movement to Yemen's then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They accused him of corruption and criticized him for being backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Al-Houthi accused Saleh of seeking to please the United States' interests at the expense of the Yemeni people and Yemen's sovereignty. In 2003, influenced by Lebanese Shia political and military organization Hezbollah, the Houthis adopted the official slogan: "God is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam."¹

As to the slogan, once again, a quick trip to Wikipedia.

It is often portrayed on a white flag, with the written text in red and green; the pro-Islamic statements are coloured green while the statements about the United States, Israel, and the Jewish people are coloured red.²

So now we know they don’t like Israel, Jews, and America. Not to be cynical, but what else is new?

This article from The New Arab News may also help you understand the web of intricacy in who is in bed with whom.

Houthi propaganda: following in Hizballah's footsteps

The group coupled its preaching activities in the rural parts of Saada with methodical media coverage at the behest of its founder Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi. The purpose was to document and promote his religious and ideological platform, which was new to Yemen.

Houthi's sermons were filmed and heard throughout Saada. In them, he explained his movement of "cultural and religious renewal". After that, the Houthi propaganda arm printed and distributed leaflets that contained transcripts of sermons and similar texts in Saada and Sanaa. These were usually interpretations of selected chapters of the Quran.

Hizballah's fingerprints

Like Hizballah's media operations, the Houthi media has a religious character, and focuses on issues including the overarching US-Israeli conspiracy and Arab "collusion".

Okay. Now we know the Houthis are from Yemen, and their argument is with Yemen. But they also hate the US, Jews, and Israel. Got it.

Now, they began by sending a few volleys of missiles to Israel. When that didn’t work, and they were warned to stop misbehaving, they took a couple of weeks to beat their chests and threaten everyone, and then they began something exceptionally smart. But something that is right up their alley, as they are known as the “Mafia” of Yemen.

They began boarding international ships and stealing the cargo.

That ought to show it and explain it to you.

But why is this such a big problem besides the loss of cargo?

Well, let us follow the steps.

1. The Houthis turned from lobbing missiles 2000 miles away from Israel to becoming “Pirates of the Caribbean,” or, if you want to be more specific, “Pirates of the Middle East,” or “Pirates of the Meditterinan.”

2. Due to this, insurance rates for the ships and cargo went through the roof. Then, the insurance companies demanded that the ships not go through the Suez Canal but around the Horn of Africa.

3. This had quite a few consequences.

   1. The trip without using the Suez Canal took much longer. Therefore, expenses for salaries, food, and everything else went up.

   2. Containers are leased or rented. The price of containers went up, and containers were costing $1000 more than they were before this piracy became a problem.

   3. Ships were all off schedule, and goods were not delivered on time. A tow to three wee delay in any delivery is now the norm.

   4. The Houthis are not exactly your typical run-of-the-mill pirates. The kill. They maim. They also, like their buddies, Hamas would like nothing better than to get their hands on an Israeli ship or an American ship. Let me say that again: an American ship.

4. Now, who do you think will pay for all these severe expenses suddenly laid upon the feet of the shippers? Yes. You have that right: you, me, and the rest of the public.

But we are not done. Remember, the Houthis want nothing more than to pick a fight with the US and Israel together.

For example, on December 15th, the Jerusalem Post and many other news outlets worldwide carried the following piece.

Houthis fire at, attempt to divert several vessels off coast of Yemen

And the following day, the Houthis made it clear exactly what they wanted from all this.

Houthis: Hostile acts against Yemen will have 'dire consequences'

"The Houthis will not abandon the Palestinian cause, regardless of any US, Israeli, or Western threats," the official said.

Houthis continue Red Sea attacks

Earlier in the day, the US military said attacks from Houthi-controlled Yemen struck two Liberian-flagged ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, underlining the threat to vessels in shipping lanes being targeted by the Iran-aligned group.

Part of the Iran-aligned "Axis of Resistance," the Houthis have been attacking vessels in Red Sea shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles at Israel.

The Houthis, who rule much of Yemen, have said they will continue their attacks until Israel stops its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

So why do you have to worry about the Houthis?

Well, they, like Hizbollah and Hamas, are puppets of Iran, But, as you have seen, they have missiles that can travel thousands of miles. And they are crazy enough to use them against the US.

Their actions will begin to affect your and my pockets almost immediately.

Innocent people from countries all over the world who are sailors on these ships now have their lives in danger and are threatened by them. Sooner or later, there will be a hostage crisis.

And finally, because they hate all Western culture. They hate it and will do anything they can to fight it and try and eradicate it. Groups like this are not rag-tag individuals who got together to cause trouble. They are highly well-funded by Iran, extremely well-armed, and have plans.

Western countries are taking this very seriously. However, they are not doing anywhere ner enough.

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So yes, dear people in the West. You had better be worried.

Cause they are coming for all of us.

From the Houthis. From Hamas. From Hizbollah.

All are funded by Iran.

Do you think there is a common demonitor here?

We all have a lot to worry about these days.

 

1. Houthi movement. (2023, December 21). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi_movement

2. Slogan of the Houthi movement. (2023, December 20). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slogan_of_the_Houthi_movement