What Yemen’s Houthis Want
In a wide-ranging interview, Yemen scholar Helen Lackner examines the Houthis’ politics, their support for Palestine, and the long history of a country torn by civil war.
Houthi rebels demonstrate against the US and Israel on January 29, 2024, in Sana’a, Yemen. (Osamah Yahya / picture alliance via Getty Images)
Huthi attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea have prompted people all over the world to ask about the Huthis. Who are they? Why are they taking these actions in solidarity with Gaza against the Israeli genocide, even as it elicits US military reprisals? What, generally, is going on in Yemen?
To answer these questions and more, Daniel Denvir interviewed longtime Yemen scholar Helen Lackner for The Dig podcast. Helen is an associate at the Transnational Institute and the author of many books including Yemen in Crisis: Devastating Conflict, Fragile Hope and Yemen: Poverty and Conflict. They discussed the Huthis’ ideology, history, and politics, their solidarity with Palestine, and where they fit into Yemen’s long civil war. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Daniel Denvir
Mainstream reports these days often portray the Huthis as mere Iranian proxies. And their attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea are framed, I think, rather cynically, as either a favor to Iran or as a means to shore up an authoritarian domestic order. For the Huthis’ part, of course, they say they’re motivated by solidarity with the Palestinian people, and that their attacks are geared to pressure Israel to stop its genocide in Gaza. What should we make of the Huthis’ attacks?
Helen Lackner
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