“I oppose the Houthis. I dedicate several hours every day to expose the crimes and oppression of the Houthis in my country – on social media, on TV, in the field, organizing marches and events, speaking at the UN. Everything I do I dedicate to this topic,” said Majda Alhaddad.
Originally from Ibb in Yemen, Alhaddad is a women’s rights and peace activist who currently resides in the US. In her first-ever interview with Israeli media, she told The Jerusalem Post that traditionally conservative Yemen has seen new laws since the Houthis came to power. “The Houthis... assault women and girls who wear pants; they arrest them, beat them physically. They threaten them so that they change the way they dress,” she said. “Houthi authorities arrest and kidnap women because of their political opinions. This has never happened in Yemen until now. Many women were sentenced to death, and there are currently an estimated 2,600 women in prison just because they resisted marriage.
When asked why she thinks some anti-Israel groups support the Houthis, Hadded replied: “The first thing is ignorance. They don’t really understand the truth of who the Houthis really are. I try to dedicate my work to exposing the terrible things they do.
“There are those who tell me that ‘we love Yemen and appreciate Yemen for what they do for Palestine’ but I always make sure to explain the issue to them thoroughly,” Alhaddad said.
“Only last week I was at a clothing shop and the cashier was of Palestinian origin. When she heard I’m Yemeni, she gave me a gift and said that ‘it’s because we support the Palestinians.’ I told her that there is a big difference between the Yemeni people and what the Houthis are doing, which is worse than what she’s being told about Israel. What they’re doing in the Red Sea is outright terrorism.”
As for the second reason, Alhaddad mentioned general apathy toward peripheral Yemen. “Global and Arab media are not interested in Yemen; the Arabs were never interested in Yemen either. 10 years of war and I haven’t seen a single Lebanese or Syrian or Palestinian talking about the bombing and killing of Yemeni children. 10 years of war and destruction and kidnappings, and I haven’t seen any international outlet telling about these crimes. So why are people supporting Houthis? It’s all about ignorance and racism. I always write – is the blood of a Yemeni child not equal to that of a Palestinian child?”
Alhaddad said she and other Yemenis respect Yemeni Jews, which she did not feel was shared across other countries. “I noticed that the Yemeni people are not like others. I don’t want to make generalizations, but overall, in places like Lebanon and other countries, I saw more hatred for Jews than in my own environment. Yemen is just not like that in its roots. The Houthis and the Muslim Brotherhood try to justify their hatred of Jews by turning to religion, but the everyday Yemeni is more prone to be proud of the Jews for preserving Yemeni heritage.
