The Blogs: Irish political eccentrics at Houthi conference.

Old Yemeni stamp (copyright free)

Many in Ireland were astounded to see online videos of two Irish leftist eccentrics presenting at a four-day “conference” in Yemen, hosted by the Houthis.

That Irish duo were Mick Wallace and Clare Daly, onetime members of the Dáil (Irish government) and the E.U. (European Parliament).

Wallace’s western scruffy rock-star look was in stark in contrast to the soberly robed, male-only attendees. Daly duly submitted her western feminism to the mullahs by wearing full hijab. Few women were in the audience.

Blow-up photos behind the symposium stage showed the late Hezbollah leader Hazran Nasrallah, the late Hamas leader Yawa Sinwar and other Palestinian “martyrs”. A banner declared the slogan trope: ‘Allah is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, a Curse upon the Jews, Victory to Islam’. (1)

(I wonder where that sectarian screed leaves Christians, Hindus and Buddhist believers in such a visceral, violent world-view?)

‘The conference featured 87 research papers on topics such as student protests in US universities and claims of “Zionist influence” in America. Some papers pushed extreme rhetoric.…’ – reported the Mecca Times. (2)

___________________________________

“…if I walked into a (Houthi) conference that had a slogan on the wall saying a curse upon Jews, death to Israel, I would walk back out again…”

– Sarah McInerney, RTE Radio 1 journalist.

___________________________________

RTE, Ireland’s national radio broadcaster interviewed Daly (Wednesday, March 26th ). Daly dominated much of the nineteen-minute interview with journalist Sarah McInerney.

At one point, after Daly’s woodenly-worded, anti-American / “anti-Zionist” trope trashing, the exasperated interviewer had had enough and gave this response:

“God, Clare, I don’t know… if I walked into a conference that had a slogan on the wall saying a curse upon Jews, death to Israel, I would walk back out again.” (3)

Sarah McInerney, pulled no punches as she reiterated that the conference had a strong anti-Semitic tone. But unique in these toxic times, she repeatedly referenced October the 7th as being the cause of the Israeli / Hamas war.

It was so refreshing to hear a presenter being nuanced about the tragic Hamas / Israel conflict. When did I last hear a mainstream journalist actively challenging the current negative narrative? (One of the rules of the NUJ code of conduct is to ensure that information disseminated is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair).

___________________________________

Are those Yemeni rebel guerillas cynically using naive western leftists to advance their dystopian jihad against Jews, Americans and the west? Or, do Wallace and Daly really believe that there can be non-partisan, ecumenical political fraternity with Islamic Houthi tribal leaders?

Perhaps both sides are tapping into a gonzo-like political psychology? (The Gonzo outlook typically challenges sacred conventions with overstatement, wild exaggeration and self-indulgence).

Yemen being one of the poorest countries in the Middle East & North Africa, should surely prioritise more important issues rather than this belligerent, ideological brouhaha. (4)

___________________________________

Sources:

The Houthi terror group host a pro-Iran conference with Hamas leaders and Western activists, sparking calls to investigate potential terror links https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-847301

(2) Houthi Conference in Yemen Draws Global Extremists and Western Figures https://meccatimes.com/houthi-conference-in-yemen-draws-global-extremists-and-western-figures/

(3) RTE RADIO 1 DRIVE TIME PODCAST with Clare Daly. (note: RTE is Ireland’s national broadcaster) https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22500577/

(4) The World Bank report, Poverty and Equity Assessment 2024, placed Yemen in the company of Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and the Sahel. https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4964376-world-bank-yemen-among-poorest-country-world