Thread by @ZechariahSharab

🧵1) The Houthis recently made the news with attempted rocket attacks on #Israel but they have been wreaking havoc in #Yemen for over a decade

Like #Hamas, The Houthis are funded by #Iran. They killed over 500,000 Yemenis and ethnically cleansed Yemen's entire Jewish community

2) Ever heard of Taiz? It's #Yemen's 3rd largest city, which has been under complete blockade by the Houthis since 2015!

Despite pleas from human rights organizations, the Houthis continued shelling civilians, starving the population, and not allowing any humanitarian aid

3) The Houthis have also destroyed ancient heritage sites in #Yemen, like the 3,000 year old Al-Qahira castle and the16th-century mosque of Sufi Sheikh Abdulhadi al-Sudi

Our revered Sage Rabbi Shalom Shabazi's tomb is in Taiz, and there are rumors they damaged it as well

4) The Houthis ethnically cleansed the remaining ancient #Jewish community of #Yemen

Our community lived in #Yemen for over 2,000 years

Currently, there is only 1 #Jew left in #Yemen, he is held captive by the Houthis

5) The Houthi symbol proudly calls for "A curse upon the Jews" with the colors of #Iran's regime

Their hate for Jews is not related to #Israel or Zionism

The Houthis are followers of a Shia branch of Islam called Zaydism

The Zaydis ruled parts of #Yemen since the 16th Century

6) In 1679, The Zaydis were responsible for the most traumatic event in our community's history - the Mawza Exile

Zaydi Imam al-Mahdi Ahmad expelled the Jews to a hot and arrid region named Mawza

Thanks to the indigenous Sabbaean tribes, the Jews would return to their homes

7) In 1630, the Zaydis took over #Yemen

The Zaydis enforced the Orphan Decree forcing all Jewish orphans to convert to Islam

They also forced Jews and Christians to wear symbols showing their religion

8) In 1948 Zaydi Imam Ahmad bin Yahya Hamididdin started the forced exile of #Yemen's ancient #Jewish community

My grandparents, like many others, lost their homes and belongings, and were forced to walk to a refugee camp in Aden

9) A decade later, with the fall of the Zaydi Imamate and establishment of a Republic, did conditions improve in #Yemen

Shias make up 35% of #Yemen, yet the Houthis, together with funding from the regime in #Iran, want to bring Yemen back to the days of the Zaydi Imamate