The Houthi movement, more correctly known as the Ansar Allah, is effectively the official government of Yemen. Controlling territory where more than 3/4ths of Yemenis live, the Houthis have been targeting Israeli-bound shipping in the Red Sea in an attempt to end the Jewish State’s genocide of Gaza. The US response—bombing Yemen and killing Yemeni sailors—puts US leaders, alongside Israeli ones, in the docket for future genocide prosecutions.
Ansar Allah is wildly popular across West Asia and North Africa. Here in Morocco, one of the last nations on Earth that could be accused of anti-Americanism, everyone is cheering for the Houthis.
A recent Financial Times article “‘Thank God for the Houthis’: why Arab world is backing Yemen rebels” sampled Arab public opinion and came back with quotes like:
“We thank God for the Houthis. They’re the only Arabs helping Palestine.”
“Among all of my friends, there’s a completely positive perception of the Houthis.”
“These countries (the US and its vassals) want us to believe they are moral when really they are hypocrites. They have done nothing to stop the atrocities in Gaza. But the minute global trade and shipping were threatened, then suddenly they spring into action.”
Alongside its near-100% approval ratings in the MENA region, Yemen has US and Western public opinion on its side…up to a point. As William Walldorf observed inTime Magazine yesterday: “The U.S. Public Has Never Been More Anti-War. Biden Isn’t Taking Note.” Walldorf cites data showing that “the U.S. public and its leaders are deeply divided today about Middle East policy.” With no grand narrative to justify war, widespread public disgust with the 9/11 wars, and huge majorities favoring a ceasefire in Gaza and opposing further Middle East wars, it’s hard to imagine how Genocide Joe and his gender-bending generals could get the public fired up for a big war on the Axis of Resistance.
But the Houthis do have one minor PR problem in the US: their slogan. The usual English translation is: “God is great. Death to America. Death to Israel. A curse upon the Jews. Victory to Islam.”
Let’s face it, that slogan will never sell pizzas in Peoria. If the Houthis want to win the hearts and minds of Americans, they are going to have to come up with something with more pizzazz.
All five points of the Houthi slogan are problematic from a US perspective. But by far the worst, of course, is “a curse upon the Jews.” It sounds so…archaic! Talk about desuetude, dude! Specifically, the word “upon,” with its two syllables where the one-syllable “on” would do, is off-puttingly anachronistic.
C’mon, Houthis! When someobody cuts you off in traffic, do you roll down your window and yell “a curse upon you”? I seriously doubt it! Sure, it might be a good idea, since the creep who cut you off might laugh so hard he’d lose control and drive straight into the nearest light pole. But let’s face it, you wouldn’t have had time to plan all that out, so you would have yelled something more…pithy.
If even a minor road rage incident requires a pithier response than “a curse upon you,” the world’s first-ever completely transparent genocide probably does too. So listen up, Houthis: “A curse upon the Jews” has got to go. Below are some alternative translations اللعنة على اليهود (allaenat ‘alaa alyahud). Feel free to vote for your personal favorite in the comments.
A) Damn the Jews!
B) Goddamn the Jews!
C) Those goddamn Jews!
D) Curses! Jewed again!
E) Damn the Jews to hell and back!
F) (your translation here)
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