February 8, 2024
B’nai Brith Canada has launched a letter-writing campaign urging the Federal Government to list the Yemen-based Houthi Movement (Ansar Allah) as a terrorist entity.
Anyone in Canada can sign the letter, which is addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, and Minister of Public Safety Dominic Leblanc. It calls on them to respond to the Houthis’ recent assaults on international shipping and indiscriminate attacks against Israel by calling the group what it is: a terrorist organization.
This action would bring Canada in line with allies such as the United States, which on Jan. 17 re-designated Ansar Allah as a terrorist organization.
Established in 1994, the so-called “Party of God,” or Ansar Allah (colloquially known as the Houthi Movement) has emerged as a powerful, violent Islamist faction following Yemen’s 2014 civil war. The group, which is backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, regularly uses children as soldiers and is responsible for numerous human rights abuses. It presents an escalating threat to international commerce and security.
The Houthi movement is also notoriously antisemitic – its members frequently use the slogan “God is the greatest; death to America; a curse upon the Jews; victory to Islam!” Numerous recent anti-Israel rallies have featured expressions of support for the Houthis’ recent attacks on Israel and any ships perceived as associated with the Jewish State.
Recently, B’nai Brith Canada and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Education (FSWC) released a joint statement imploring the Government to use the Anti-Terrorism Act to list Ansar Allah as a terrorist group.
“The Houthi Movement’s disregard for international law presents a global threat and warrants a firm response from Canada,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “We call on all Canadians to join our campaign to compel the Government to stand against terrorism by listing Ansar Allah as a terrorist entity.”
