I am compelled to deviate from the discussion on the Palestine Problem and the elections in the United States by an article that appeared on Haaretz* which is sometimes called the New York Times of Israeli newspapers. In a long article on Yemeni affairs in 20 October 2008 ('last update")* by Yossi Melman (www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1030121. html)* the Israeli penchant for exaggerated "presence" and genuineness as being part and parcel of the region rather than the biggest rip-off of all millenniums was on display again in a distortion of facts and reality beyond belief. This observer would have let such nonsense pass by as all the other Zionist nonsense one has seen over the last century as just another misrepresentation of facts to overcome an obvious "out of place" situation the Zionist state has to endure as long as it remains the mutant western concoction it is* with no apparent historical* moral or even cultural affinity to speak of with the rich oriental culture and civilization of the region that gave vivacity to human existence. Again* I will not delve into the mediocrity of the article's content in detail* except to assure the readers of Haaretz* the Yemen Times and the world at large that the late Qadhi Abdul-Rahman Al-Iryani is as genuine a Moslem and IRYANI as anyone can ever be and all the information of the article is no more than a wishy washy tale that surpasses the Trilogy of the Rings by H. Tolkien. Surely* the twisting of facts is not the occupational wisdom* which is expected of sound journalism* and this observer believes nothing could not fit such description as the article in question. Qadhi Abdurrahman Yahya Al-Iriani* or Iryani as some would write it* is well known to this observer and to all Yemenis as being the son of the late Qadhi Yahya Al-Iryani* one of the most distinguished Yemeni scholars* poets and historians of the last Century and a well known reference on all jurisdictional and religious issues. His son* the late Qadhi Abdurrahman Al-Iryani is in his own right also a distinguished scholar and Yemeni dignitary* who rose to eventually become the first and only really and freely elected civilian President Yemen has had. His Presidency is still remembered as the only real manifestation of democratic "republican" rule since the Revolution and he was highly respected throughout the Arab World for his sagacity and reverence. He need not to have been of Jewish background to have such magnificent attributes and in fact* such character only comes from a long line of Zeidi scholarly tradition* that has brought on the likes of Dr. Abdul-Karim Al-Iryani* former Prime Minister and Special Advisor to the President* the late Qadhi Abdullah Al-Iryani* the late Ambassador Yahya Yahya Al-Iryani (brothers of Qadhi Abdurrahman)* the late Colonel Mohammed Al-Iryani* the late Ahmed Al-Iryani (former Chairman of the Central Organization for Control and Auditing) and the list could go and on. As a personal friend and acquaintance of several members of this honorable family* one cannot help but reject such blasphemy as given in Haaretz. To add more insults to injury* the same article delved into the Yemeni Civil War (1962 ? 1969) with the same penchant for "being involved"* describing an unheard of active involvement in supplying the Royalists by parachute* etc. While not seeming to defend the Royalists* any Yemeni knows that such magnificent sensationalism of the greatness of Israeli covert activities is another bogus mis-rendition of history. For one thing such covert flights would certainly not have escaped the radars of so many states along the way from Jordan* Saudi Arabia* Egypt and the Yemen Arab Republic. On the other hand there was really no need for such great feats of intelligence work* as the long Saudi ? Yemeni border provided sufficient safe passage of Royalist supplies and "mercenary personnel"* to render such allusions as mere Israeli exaggerations of their own capabilities. In any case such sensationalism has now been rendered as obsolete after Hizb-Allah has shown Israel to have outlived its own fairy tales* past* present and its future. With such a sad situation* it would probably be better for Israel to start finding where its own roots really emanate from* namely in the ghettos of Eastern Europe and Russia before making any claims of ethnic and cultural superiority* which the non-oriental Israeli establishment has no basis to cling to. For the world at large* one is compelled to declare that the overwhelming majority of the people of Yemen indeed voluntarily converted to Islam en masse at the time of the Prophet Mohammed (Sixth Century AD)* Peace of Allah be Upon Him* when the Yemeni population was then split between Jews and Gentiles (and some polygamists)* and then went on to be the vanguards of the Islamic expeditions that fanned out from the Iberian Peninsula to the borders of China. That is a legacy even the Yemeni Jews in Yemen and Israel can claim some pride in sharing. On another note I am advised that the person discussed by the Haaretz article was actually adopted by the Iryani family and later went on to occupy the position of a soldier of the Republic* who was a special guard to His Honor the late President (Qadhi) Abdul-Rahman Al-Iryani* may God bless his soul. To give credence to the above the subject of the article studied with the father of this observer under his late father and later taught with him in religious jurisprudence* literature and other traditional scholarly fields. Hassan Al-Haifi has been a Yemeni political economist and journalist for more than 20 years....

المزيد...