Yemen's Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis) Promotes Antisemitism Between Attacks On Israel

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Since the resumption of open warfare between Israel and Palestinian militant groups on October 7, 2023, Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) have joined in the conflict, launching missiles at Israel, and attacking Israeli and international vessels off the coast of Yemen.

Online, leaders and official websites of the Houthi movement have also engaged in a war of words, criticizing Israel and the U.S., while lionizing the prowess, bravery, and cause of the Palestinians and Palestinian militant groups.

Many of these posts and articles have repeated known, disproven, and hateful antisemitic tropes and accusations. These include religious injunctions justifying hatred of Jews, historical misrepresentations minimizing the suffering of Jews, and old stereotypes that generated hatred against Jews in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, Supreme Political Council

Writing on his personal Telegram channel, Ansar Allah Supreme Political Council member Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi described the current conflict between Israel and Hamas by invoking the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a long-discredited antisemitic document that describes a Jewish plot to control the world. The document is attributed to a group of Jewish leaders but has been proven, multiple times, to be a racist forgery.

Al-Houthi uses the text to describe alleged efforts by Israel to destroy the faith of Muslims and Christians, to sap them of their will to fight:

"The Jews know the effect when there is faith in the nation. They know that if they can turn us into infidels, they do not want us to be Jews. They said in their documents called (The Protocols of the Elders of Zion) that they do not want Muslims or Christians to be Jews. They do not deserve to be Jews, but rather to be infidels, to be misguided, to be this or that, to lose divine victory, divine support, and those things that faith can give. They would like us to be infidels."

In a post from November 2, Al-Houthi invoked themes of global domination and ascribed an animal-like savagery to Jews, claiming that they only care about their own well-being and actively seek the end of humanity.[1] Such ideas were commonly used in Europe and elsewhere in the past to justify hatred of Jews.

"The Jews are known throughout history that they only love themselves and they constantly work to uproot all of humanity and for all of humanity to end except them. They have this love and will for all of human existence to end with their exception. They are the ones who destroyed civilization during the reign of Solomon, peace be upon him, and they are the ones who will strive. To destroy this civilization today."

This echoes claims that Al-Houthi made in an interview with Russia's state-backed RT television, accusing Jews of "seeking to eradicate humanity."[2]

In a post from November 30, Al-Houthi wrote as part of a lengthy screed attacking Jewish leaders outside of Israel that Jews are inherently dishonest, a long-recycled stereotype.

"Jews are known for their many crimes and their many lies, misleading them by confusing truth with falsehood. They are disgusting personalities."

Hezam Al-Asad, Political Bureau and Shura Council

Since October 7, Houthi Political Bureau and Shura Council member Hezam Al-Asad has published numerous posts containing anti-Semitic content, including content defending violence against Jews.

In one post from October 29, Al-Asad shared a picture of Adolf Hitler, with text reading "I could have killed all the Jews in the world, but I left some of them alive so that world would know why I killed them."[3] Commenting on the image, Al-Asad asked in Arabic and Hebrew: "Did he have a point of view? Was he right?"

On November 15, Al-Asad shared a post from fellow Houthi member Hussein Al-Ezzi, translating the original post into Hebrew.[4] It combined a wish for the safety of Palestinians with an explicit desire to kill Jews. The post also mixed in claims of deicide, which were used against Jews in the Middle Ages in Europe.

"We are very careful about everyone's safety. May you all cross safely and securely. We are only looking for the killers of the prophets (i.e., Jews) and the enemies of humanity We want to tell them that the fish are hungry, and that the blood of children in Gaza is not as wasted as they imagine."

Al-Asad also published several posts highlighting racial divisions within Israel, which appear to be aimed at disassociating Israelis with Israel and discrediting claims to it.

On November 26, he wrote "After the dust of battle has settled, we notice that the number of dead from the Israeli army is several times greater than what was previously announced. By verifying the identities of the dead, we find that most are Sephardic, Oriental, Falashmura, Druze and Bedouin, and only a few are Ashkenazi!" referring to Israelis with roots in central Europe.

The same day, he published a post again emphasizing rifts within Israeli society, claiming that some Israelis do not see Jews with Ethiopian heritage as true Jews.[5]

Why do the Ashkenazim despise the Falashmura and describe them as Christians?"

On November 2, he shared a post from fellow Houthi Abdulmalik Al-Ejri expanding on these themes, providing a long list of Israeli leaders along with their heritage, emphasizing links to eastern Europe and elsewhere.[6] After listing leaders that included the first Israeli Prime Minister, David ben Gurion, and the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, he pondered: "All these people came from far away and insist that Palestine is their land and that they, their ancestors and their ancestors' ancestors were born to Palestine hundreds of years ago and have never known any other country. They must go to look for their own country in the desert!!"

Ansarollah.com, The Houthis' Official Website

The Houthis' official website, Ansarollah.com, hosts statements from the group's military, political and religious officials. It also features content that plays on stereotypes and antisemitism.

One cartoon on the site shows, on one panel, what appears to be a religious scholar from Saudi Arabia.[7] He is dressed conservatively, defending a ban against pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the basis of gender separation.

On the other side, the man is seen dressed in modern clothing, his face contorted as he wears a shirt bearing the Star of David and trousers in the style of the U.S. flag. Defending gender mixing in sports, he dances and shouts, "Take me with you!" This draws on stereotypes that Jews seek to undermine cultural values for nefarious, unnamed plots.

In a previously published article reposted on October 16 and attributed to Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, the group hits on arguments used by some jihadi proponents to justify hatred of Jews because of their supposed opposition to the early Muslim communities. The article also relies on antisemitic claims of Jewish world domination.[8]

"The Zionist Jews are the first enemy of the nation, who represent a great danger to the nation with their occupation of Palestine, their threat to our sanctities, and their aim for Palestine to be a starting point for moving towards controlling the entire Muslim nation. They aim to occupy an important position in this geographical area in the reality of the nation and the world to enhance their global influence."

The piece relies on several Quranic passages, including a passage from Al-Ma'ida, to justify its claims: "O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and Christians as guardians of one another. Whoever is among you, then he is of them. Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people."[9] These passages are used by jihadis, fundamentalists, and militants to justify hatred, violence, and discrimination against Jews. However, many mainstream scholars place this and other passages within a historical context that would rule out such hatred.