by Dana Ben-Shimon
Two Arab activists are challenging dominant regional narratives by defending Israel online, even after facing bombings, persecution, and exile.
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“I went through these things, I understand the suffering,” he told The Jerusalem Report.
A former political prisoner in Iraq, Al-Tamimi knows firsthand what it means to be tortured behind bars. His empathy also stems from a tragedy closer to home. In 2006, his brother was kidnapped, likely by al-Qaeda, and the family has not heard from him since.
“I was born and raised in a country where there is killing, oppression, and abductions, so I, more than anyone else, can feel the agony and the pain of the Israelis waiting for their loved ones to come home,” he said.
From Baghdad to London
Al-Tamimi grew up in a devout Shi’ite family in Baghdad, where he was taught to hate Israel and view Zionists as “devils.”“But then I began to connect with Jews and Israelis and realized that the ‘devil’ is not that bad. I started to ask, ‘Why should I hate Israel?’” he said.
“At one point, my house was blasted because of my views,” Al-Tamimi said.
In 2015, he was forced to leave Baghdad after facing harsh persecution for rejecting Iranian figures, the influence of their militias in Iraq, and ISIS.
Now based in London, the 44-year-old, who is also a Shi’ite cleric, has emerged as one of the most outspoken Arab voices defending Israel and condemning extremism.
With more than 400,000 followers on X, he regularly challenges Iran and its proxies, not hesitating to denounce the terror group Hamas.
Shame and disgrace
Al-Tamimi’s posts are often blunt and fiery. In one, he backed the assassination of Abu Obaida, the spokesman of Hamas’s military wing.In another post, he wrote: “Hamas and those who side with it – may they go to hell. Shame and disgrace to those sympathizing with them until the day of judgment.”
He also condemned the terror attack outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, declaring: “Hatred and terror against Jews do not discriminate between a Zionist, an Israeli, or a Jew. Everyone is a target of racist terrorism, and anyone who claims otherwise is lying or deceiving. I stand in solidarity with British Jews and the people of Israel.”
His support for Israel is unusually direct for an Arab public figure, a position that has made him a pariah among many Arabs and Muslims. He has also paid a heavy personal price for his convictions.
“The most recent attack was in 2023 when my car was bombed while I was in Iraq going home from my office,” he recounted. He said it was due to his friendship with Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was held hostage by militias in Iraq and returned to Israel in September. That was the last time he visited Iraq.
Iran’s shadow
Al-Tamimi is furious about what he sees as biased Western and Arab media coverage of the war in Gaza.“They did manipulations and showed only the things they wanted to show, focusing on Hamas’s narrative and ignoring the Israeli side,” he said, singling out the Qatar-sponsored Al-Jazeera network for spreading anti-Israel propaganda.
But his greatest ire is reserved for Iran.
“They should go. This destructive regime must be dismantled,” he said. “Otherwise, it will continue to control countries like my own – Iraq – and raise a new generation of radical militias and proxies across the region, including the West Bank and Gaza.”
“Don’t be afraid of a Palestinian state that will never be established,” he added. “It’s only a left-wing illusion. Even in Europe, some countries don’t really believe in it and allow pro-Palestinian protests to divert attention from their own internal problems and political tensions. Your real fear should be Khamenei.”
The Yemeni influencer calling for peace
With 1.3 million followers on X, Yemini activist Ali Al-Bukhaiti takes a pragmatic approach toward Israel and the region’s conflicts, which are grounded in political reality rather than emotion.“I recognize Israel’s right to exist within 1967 borders; but Israel, for its part, should recognize the rights of Palestinians on these same lines and accept a solution to the Palestinian cause,” he told the Report.
“Armed resistance doesn’t serve the Palestinian interest, since Israel is stronger,” he said, urging Palestinians to adopt peaceful means instead.
Spokesman for the Houthis
Now living in the UK, where he was granted political asylum in 2019, Al-Bukhaiti once served as a spokesman for the Houthi movement. He broke with the group after it seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.“The Houthis are a terror group committing crimes against the Yemeni people,” he said emphatically. “They claim to support the Palestinians, but I said from day one that their actions would not help. Their missile attacks harmed Israeli citizens and disrupted daily life and airport flights; but overall, the damage to Israel was very small compared to what the Yemenis suffered.”
In one post, he compared Hamas in Gaza to the Houthis in Yemen, writing that “Gazans are controlled by a terrorist group (Hamas) that presents itself as a national liberation movement, just like the Houthis in Yemen.”
In another post, he contrasted life in Israel with conditions in Yemen: “The situation of Arab citizens in Israeli towns and cities like Nazareth is far better than that of Yemenis under Houthi rule.”
People-to-people peace
Al-Bukhaiti believes that any lasting peace in the Middle East must go beyond governments and take root among ordinary people.He noted a paradox across the Arab world: “In some Arab states that haven’t signed peace treaties with Israel, a portion of the public is more open to Israel and understands it better than the public in countries that already have peace agreements, such as Egypt and Jordan, where attitudes are much more hostile.
“Arab countries want peace,” he said, “but the Palestinian issue keeps standing in the way. It’s also because hardline Islamic groups in countries like Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, and Egypt draw their legitimacy and influence from the Palestinian cause.”
According to Al-Bukhaiti, these movements manipulate the issue to maintain power. “It’s an issue that stirs up public opinion, and in the end leaders of these countries fear it could cause turmoil and turn against them.”
Hope for Yemen
Though critical of Hamas and the Houthis, Al-Bukhaiti warned that Israel’s strength alone cannot guarantee long-term stability. “Israel is in a position of power now, but power doesn’t last forever,” he said.“Many changes can happen in the future. America may not always be as strong or supportive as it is today, meaning that Israel could lose its current advantage. Real peace cannot be built on power alone. It has to be seen as just by everyone in the region.”
Despite his realism, he remains hopeful. “I hope that one day a peace agreement between Israel and Yemen will be reached, enabling Jews of Yemeni origin to return for a visit,” he said.
And with an emotional nod to Yemen’s vanished Jewish community, he stated: “We love the Jews of Yemen and need to apologize to those who were expelled, suffered persecutions by the regime, and had their property expropriated.”
Dana Ben-Shimon
Source: https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/article-874311
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